b'          **    -»«^*R  ^ 

5#flt 


Pj*SS*> 


<SJC*TRAND  SMITHS 


ONO  BffACH 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY 


OF 


TOTO. 


LAURA   E.    RICHARDS. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS  BY  E.  H.  GARRETT. 


? 

BOSTON: 
ROBERTS     BROTHERS. 

1885. 


Copyright,  1S85, 
BY  ROBERTS  BROTHERS. 


Snifatrsiti;  iprtss: 
JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE. 


TO    MY    CHILDREN 

C&ts  §>torp 

IS     LOVINGLY     DEDICATED. 


2812158 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


CHAPTER  I. 

r  1  "OTO  was  a  little  boy,  and  his  grandmother 
was  an  old  woman  (I  have  noticed  that 
grandmothers  are  very  apt  to  be  old  women) ;  and 
this  story  is  about  both  of  them.  Now,  whether 
the  story  be  true  or  not  you  must  decide  for  your- 
selves ;  and  the  child  who  finds  this  out  will  be 
wiser  than  I. 

Toto's  grandmother  lived  in  a  little  cottage  far 
from  any  town,  and  just  by  the  edge  of  a  thick 

1 


Z         THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

wood ;  and  Toto  lived  with  her,  for  his  father 
and  mother  were  dead,  and  the  old  woman  was 
the  only  relation  he  had  in  the  world. 

The  cottage  was  painted  red,  with  white  win- 
dow-casings, and  little  diamond-shaped  panes  of 
glass  in  the  windows.  Up  the  four  walls  grew  a 
red  rose,  a  yellow  rose,  a  woodbine,  and  a  clem- 
atis; and  they  all  met  together  at  the  top,  and 
fought  and  scratched  for  the  possession  of  the  top 
of  the  chimney,  from  which  there  was  the  finest 
view ;  so  foolish  are  these  vegetables. 

Inside  the  cottage  there  was  a  big  kitchen,  with 
a  great  open  fireplace,  in  which  a  bright  fire 
was  always  crackling;  a  floor  scrubbed  white  and 
clean ;  a  dresser  with  shining  copper  and  tin 
dishes  on  it ;  a  table,  a  rocking-chair  for  the 
grandmother,  and  a  stool  for  Toto.  There  were 
two  bedrooms  and  a  storeroom,  and  perhaps  an- 
other room ;  and  there  was  a  kitchen  closet, 
where  the  cookies  lived.  So  now  you  know  all 
about  the  inside  of  the  cottage.  Outside  there 
was  a  garden  behind  and  a  bit  of  green  in  front, 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.         3 

and  three  big  trees ;  and  that  is  all  there  is  to 
tell. 

As  for  Toto,  he  was  a  curly-haired  fellow,  with 
bright  eyes  and  rosy  cheeks,  and  a  mouth  that 
was  always  laughing. 

His  grandmother  was  the  best  grandmother  in 
the  world,  I  have  been  given  to  understand, 
though  that  is  saying  a  great  deal,  to  be  sure. 
She  was  certainly  a  very  good,  kind  old  body  ;  and 
she  had  pretty  silver  curls  and  pink  cheeks,  as 
every  grandmother  should  have.  There  was  only 
one  trouble  about  her;  but  that  was  a  very  serious 
one,  —  she  was  blind. 

Her  blindness  did  not  affect  Toto  much  ;  for 
he  had  never  known  her  when  she  was  not  blind, 
and  he  supposed  it  was  a  peculiarity  of  grand- 
mothers in  general.  But  to  the  poor  old  lady 
herself  it  was  a  great  affliction,  though  she  bore 
it,  for  the  most  part,  very  cheerfully.  She  was 

wonderfullv  clever  and  industrious ;   and  her  fin- 

./ 

gers  seemed,  in  many  ways,  to  see  better  than 
some  people's  eyes.  She  kept  the  cottage  always 


4  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TO  TO. 

as  neat  as  a  new  pin.  She  was  an  excellent  cook, 
too,  and  made  the  best  gingerbread  and  cookies 
in  the  world.  And  she  knit  —  oh!  how  she  did 
knit !  —  stockings,  mittens,  and  comforters ;  com- 
forters, mittens,  .and  stockings :  all  for  Toto. 
Toto  wore  them  out  very  fast ;  but  he  could 
not  keep  up  with  his  grandmother's  knitting. 
Clickety  click,  clickety  clack,  went  the  shining 
needles  all  through  the  long  afternoons,  when 
Toto  was  away  in  the  wood ;  and  nothing  an- 
swered the  needles,  except  the  tea-kettle,  which 
always  did  its  best  to  make  things  cheerful.  But 
even  in  her  knitting  there  were  often  trials  for 
the  grandmother.  Sometimes  her  ball  rolled  off 
her  lap  and  away  over  the  floor ;  and  then  the 
poor  old  lady  had  a  hard  time  of  it  groping  about 
in  all  the  corners  (there  never  was  a  kitchen  that 
had  so  many  corners  as  hers),  and  knocking  her 
head  against  the  table  and  the  dresser. 

The  kettle  was  always  much  troubled  when 
anything  of  this  sort  happened.  He  puffed 
angrily,  and  looked  at  the  tongs.  "  If /had  legs," 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  5 

he  said,  "  I  would  make  some  use  of  them,  even 
if  they  ivere  awkward  and  ungainly.  But  when  a 
person  is  absolutely  all  head  and  legs,  it  is  easy 
to  understand  that  he  should  have  no  heart." 

The  tongs  never  made  any  reply  to  these 
remarks,  but  stood  stiff  and  straight,  and  pre- 
tended not  to  hear. 

But  the  grandmother  had  other  troubles  beside 
dropping  her  ball.  Toto  was  a  very  good  boy,  — 
better,  in  fact,  than  most  boys,  —  and  he  loved  his 
grandmother  very  much  indeed ;  but  he  was  for- 
getful, as  every  child  is.  Sometimes  he  forgot 
this,  and  sometimes  that,  and  sometimes  the 
other ;  for  you  see  his  heart  was  generally  in  the 
forest,  and  his  head  went  to  look  after  it ;  and 
that  often  made  trouble.  He  always  meant  to  get 
before  he  went  to  the  forest  everything  that  his 
grandmother  could  possibly  want  while  he  was 
away.  Wood  and  water  he  never  forgot,  for  he 
always  brought  those  in  before  breakfast.  But 
sometimes  the  brown  potatoes  sat  waiting  in  the 
cellar  closet,  with  their  jackets  all  buttoned  up, 


6         THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

wondering  why  they  were  not  taken  out,  as  their 
brothers  had  been  the  day  before,  and  put  in  a 
wonderful  wicker  cage,  and  carried  off  to  see  the 
great  world.  And  the  yellow  apples  blushed  with 
anger  and  a  sense  of  neglect ;  while  the  red  apples 
turned  yellow  with  vexation.  And  sometimes,  — 
well,  sometimes  this  sort  of  thing  would  happen  : 
one  day  the  old  lady  was  going  to  make  some 
gingerbread ;  for  there  was  not  a  bit  in  the  house, 
and  To  to  could  not  live  without  gingerbread.  So 
she  said,  "  Toto,  go  to  the  cupboard  and  get  me 
the  ginger-box  and  the  soda,  that 's  a  good 
boy!" 

Now,  Toto  was  standing  in  the  doorway  when 
his  grandmother  spoke,  and  just  at  that  moment 
he  caught  sight  of  a  green  lizard  on  a  stone  at  a 
little  distance.  He  wanted  very  much  to  catch 
that  lizard ;  but  he  was  an  obedient  boy,  and 
always  did  what  "  Granny  "  asked  him  to  do.  So 
he  ran  to  the  cupboard,  still  keeping  one  eye  on 
the  lizard  outside,  seized  a  box  full  of  some- 
thing yellow  and  a  bag  full  of  something  white, 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  7 

and  handed  them  to  his  grandmother.  "  There, 
Granny,"  he  cried,  "that's  ginger,  and  that's 
soda.  Now  may  I  go  ?  There  's  a  lizard  —  "  and 
he  was  off  like  a  flash. 


"  Oh,  oh  !  \vliat  a  dreadful  face  he  made  ! " 

Well,  Granny  made  the  gingerbread,  and  at  tea- 
time  in  came  Master  Toto,  quite  out  of  breath, 
having  chased  the  lizard  about  twenty-five  miles 
(so  he  said,  and  he  ought  to  know),  and  hungry  as 


8         THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

a  hunter.  He  sat  down,  and  ate  his  bread-and- 
milk  first,  like  a  good  boy ;  and  then  he  pounced 
upon  the  gingerbread,  and  took  a  huge  bite  out 
of  it.  Oh,  oh !  what  a  dreadful  face  he  made ! 
He  gave  a  wild  howl,  and  jumping  up  from 
the  table,  danced  up  and  down  the  room,  crying, 
"  Oh !  what  nasty  stuff !  Oh,  Granny,  how  could 
you  make  such  horrid  gingerbread  ?  Br-r-rr !  oh, 
dear !  I  never,  never,  never  tasted  anything  so 
horrid." 

The  poor  old  lady  was  quite  aghast.  "  My  dear 
boy,"  she  said,  "  I  made  it  just  as  usual.  You 
must  be  mistaken.  Let  me  —  "  and  then  she  tasted 
the  gingerbread. 

Well,  she  did  not  get  up  and  dance,  but  she 
came  very  near  it.  "  What  does  this  mean  ?  "  she 
cried.  "  I  made  it  just  as  usual.  What  can  it  be? 
Ah !  "  she  added,  a  new  thought  striking  her. 
"  Toto,  bring  me  the  ginger  and  the  soda ;  bring 
just  what  you  brought  me  this  afternoon.  Quick  ! 
don't  stop  to  examine  the  boxes ;  bring  the  same 
ones." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.          9 

Toto,  wondering,  brought  the  box  full  of  some- 
thing yellow,  and  the  bag  full  of  something  white. 

His  grandmother  tasted  the  contents  of  both, 
and  then  she  leaned  back  in  her  chair  and  laughed 
heartily.  "  My  dear  little  boy,"  she  said,  "  you 
think  I  am  a  very  good  cook,  and  I  myself  think 
I  am  not  a  very  bad  one ;  but  I  certainly  canwo/ 
make  good  gingerbread  with  mustard  and  salt 
instead  of  ginger  and  soda !  " 

Toto  thought  there  were  some  disadvantages 
about  being  blind,  after  all;  and  after  that  his 
grandmother  always  tasted  the  ingredients  before 
she  began  to  cook. 

Now,  it  happened  one  day  that  the  grandmother 
was  sitting  in  the  sun  before  the  cottage  door, 
knitting;  and  as  she  knitted,  from  time  to  time 
she  heaved  a  deep  sigh.  And  one  of  those  sighs  is 
the  reason  why  this  story  is  written ;  for  if  the 
grandmother  had  not  sighed,  and  Toto  had  not 
heard  her,  none  of  the  funny  things  that  I  am 
going  to  tell  you  would  have  happened.  Moral : 
always  sigh  when  you  want  a  story  written. 


10        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

To  to  was  just  corning  home  from  the  wood, 
where  he  had  been  spending  the  afternoon,  as 
usual.  As  he  came  round  the  corner  of  the  cot- 
tage he  heard  his  grandmother  sigh  deeply,  as  if 
she  were  very  sad  about  something ;  and  this 
troubled  Toto,  for  he  was  an  affectionate  little 
boy,  and  loved  his  grandmother  dearly. 

"  Why,  Granny !  "  he  cried,  running  up  to  her 
and  throwing  his  arms  round  her  neck.  "  Dear 
Granny,  why  do  you  sigh  so  ?  What  is  the  matter  ? 
Are  you  ill?" 

The  grandmother  shook  her  head,  and  wiped  a 
tear  from  her  sightless  eyes.  "  No,  dear  little 
boy  !  "  she  said.  "No,  I  am  not  ill ;  but  I  am  very 
lonely.  It 's  a  solitary  life  here,  though  you  are 
too  young  to  feel  it,  Toto,  and  I  am  very  glad  of 
that.  But  I  do  wish,  sometimes,  that  I  had  some 
one  to  talk  to,  who  could  tell  me  what  is  going  on 
in  the  world.  It  is  a  long  time  since  any  one  has 
been  here.  The  travelling  pedler  comes  only  once 
a  year,  and  the  last  time  he  came  he  had  a  tooth- 
ache, so  that  he  could  not  talk.  Ah,  deary  me ! 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        11 

it 's  a  solitary  life."     And  the  grandmother  shook 
her  head  again,  and  went  on  with  her  knitting. 

Toto  had  listened  to  this  with  his  eyes  very 
wide  open,  and  his  mouth  very  tight  shut;  and 
when  his  grandmother  had  finished  speaking,  he 
went  and  sat  down  on  a  stone  at  a  little  distance, 
and  began  to  think  very  hard.  His  grandmother 
was  lonely.  The  thought  had  never  occurred  to 
him  before.  It  had  always  seemed  as  natural  for 
her  to  stay  at  home  and  knit  and  make  cookies, 
as  for  him  to  go  to  the  wood.  He  supposed  all 
grandmothers  did  so.  He  wondered  how  it  felt 
to  be  lonely ;  he  thought  it  must  be  very  unpleas- 
ant. He  was  never  lonely  in  the  wood. 

"But  then,"  he  said  to  himself,  "I  have  all  my 
friends  in  the  wood,  and  Granny  has  none.  Very 
likely  if  I  had  no  friends  I  should  be  lonely  too. 
I  wonder  what  I  can  do  about  it." 

Then  suddenly  a  bright  idea  struck  him. 
"  Why,"  he  thought,  —  "why  should  not  my  friends 
be  Granny's  friends  too  ?  They  are  very  amusing, 
I  am  sure.  Why  should  I  not  bring  them  to  see 


12        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

Granny,  and  let  them  talk  to  her  ?  She  could  nt 
be  lonely  then.  I  '11  go  and  see  them  this  minute, 
and  tell  them  all  about  it.  I  'm  sure  they  will 
come." 

Full  of  his  new  idea,  the  boy  sprang  to  his  feet, 
and  ran  off  in  the  direction  of  the  wood.  The 
grandmother  called  to  him,  "Toto!  Toto !  where 
are  you  going  ?  "  but  he  did  not  hear  her.  The 
good  woman  shook  her  head  and  went  on  with  her 
knitting.  "  Let  the  dear  child  amuse  himself  as 

G 

much  as  he  «an  now.  There 's  little  enough 
amusement  in  life." 

But  Toto  was  not  thinking  of  his  own  amuse- 
ment this  time.  He  ran  straight  to  the  wood,  and 
entered  it,  threading  his  way  quickly  among  the 
trees,  as  if  he  knew  every  step  of  the  way,  which, 
indeed,  he  did.  At  length,  after  going  some  way, 
he  reached  an  open  space,  with  trees  all  round  it. 
Such  a  pretty  place  !  The  ground  was  carpeted 
with  softest  moss,  into  which  the  boy's  feet  sunk 
so  deep  that  they  were  almost  covered ;  and  all 
over  the  moss  were  sprinkled  little  star-shaped  pink 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.         13 

flowers.  The  trees  stood  back  a  little  from  this 
pretty  place,  as  I  said  ;  but  their  long  branches  met 
overhead,  as  they  bent  over  to  look  down  into  — 
what  do  you  think  ?  —  the  loveliest  little  pool  of 
water  that  ever  was  seen,  I  verily  believe.  A  tiny 
pool,  as  round  as  if  a  huge  giant  had  punched  a 
hole  for  it  with  the  end  of  his  umbrella  or  walk- 
ing-stick, and  as  clear  as  crystal.  The  edge  of  the 
pool  was  covered  all  round  with  plants  and  flowers, 
which  seemed  all  to  be  trying  to  get  a  peep  into 
the  clear  brown  water.  I  have  heard  that  these 
flowers  growing  round  the  pool  had  become  ex- 
cessively vain  through  looking  so  constantly  at 
their  own  reflection,  and  that  they  gave  them- 
selves insufferable  airs  in  consequence  ;  but  as  this 
was  only  said  by  the  flowers  which  did  not  grow 
near  the  pool,  perhaps  it  was  a  slight  exaggeration. 
They  were  certainly  very  pretty  flowers,  and  I 
never  wondered  at  their  wanting  to  look  at  them- 
selves. You  see  I  have  been  in  the  wood,  and 
know  all  about  it. 

It  was  in  this  pretty  place  that  Toto  stopped. 


14        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

He  sat  down  on  a  great  cushion  of  moss  near  the 
pool,  and  began  to  whistle.  Presently  he  heard 
a  rustling  in  the  tree- tops  above  his  head.  He 
stopped  whistling  and  looked  up  expectantly.  A 
beechnut  fell  plump  on  his  nose,  and  he  saw  the 
sharp  black  eyes  of  a  gray  squirrel  peering  at  him 
through  the  leaves. 

"  Hello,  Toto ! "  said  the  squirrel.  "  Back  again 
already  ?  What 's  the  matter  ?  " 

"  Come  down  here,  and  I  '11  tell  you,"  said 
Toto. 

The  squirrel  took  a  flying  leap,  and  alighted 
on  Toto's  shoulder.  At  the  same  moment  a 
louder  rustling  was  heard,  among  the  bushes  this 
time,  a  sound  of  cracking  and  snapping  twigs,  and 
presently  a  huge  black  bear  poked  his  nose  out  of 
the  bushes,  and  sniffed  inquiringly.  "  What 's 
up?"  he  asked.  "I  thought  you  fellows  had 
gone  home  for  the  night,  and  I  was  just  taking 
a  nap." 

"  So  we  had,"  said  Toto ;  "  but  I  came  back 
because  I  had  something  important  to  say.  I 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


15 


want  to  see  you  all  on  business.     Where  are  the 
others?" 

';  Coon  will  be   here   in   a   minute,"   answered 
the  bear.     "He   stopped  to  eat  the  woodchuck's 


"Well,"  said  Toto,  "it's  about  my  grandmother." 

supper.  Chucky  was  so  sound  asleep  it  seemed 
a  pity  to  miss  such  an  opportunity.  The  birds 
have  all  flown  away  except  the  wood-pigeon,  and 
she  told  me  she  would  come  as  soon  as  she  had 
fed  her  young  ones.  What's  your  business, 


16        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

Toto  ?  "  and  Bruin  sat  down  in  a  very  comfortable 
attitude,  and  prepared  to  listen. 

"Well,"  said  Toto,  "it's  about  my  grandmother. 
You  see,  she  —  oh  !  here 's  Coon !  I  '11  wait  for 
him."  As  he  spoke,  a  large  raccoon  came  out 
into  the  little  dell.  He  was  very  handsome,  with 
a  most  beautiful  tail,  but  he  looked  sly  and  lazy. 
He  winked  at  Toto,  by  way  of  greeting,  and  sat 
down  by  the  pool,  curling  his  tail  round  his  legs, 
and  then  looking  into  the  water  to  see  if  the 
effect  was  good.  At  the  same  moment  a  pretty 
wood-pigeon  fluttered  down,  with  a  soft  "  Coo !  " 
and  settled  on  Toto's  other  shoulder. 

"  Now  then ! "  said  the  squirrel,  flicking  the 
boy's  nose  with  his  tail,  "go  on,  and  tell  us  all 
about  it !  " 

So  Toto  began  again.  "  My  grandmother,  you 
see  :  she  is  blind  ;  and  she  's  all  alone  most  of  the 
time  when  I  'm  out  here  playing  with  all  of  you, 
and  it  makes  her  lonely." 

"  Lonely  !     What 's  that  ? "  asked  the  raccoon. 

"  I   know  what   it  is ! "  said  the  bear.     "  It 's 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        17 

when  there  are  n't  any  blueberries,  and  you  've 
hurt  your  paw  so  that  you  can't  climb.  It's  a 
horrid  feeling.  Is  n't  that  it,  Toto  ?  " 

"  N-no,  not  exactly,"  said  Toto,  "  for  my  grand- 
mother never  climbs  trees,  anyhow.  She  hasn't 
anybody  to  talk  to,  or  listen  to ;  nobody  comes  to 
see  her,  and  she  doesn't  know  what  is  going 
on  in  the  world.  That's  what  she  means  by 
'  lonely.' " 

"  Humph  !  "  said  the  raccoon,  waving  his  tail 
thoughtfully.  "  Why  don't  you  both  come  .and 
live  in  the  wood?  She  couldn't  be  lonely  here,  you 
know ;  and  it  would  be  very  convenient  for  us  all. 
I  know  a  nice  hollow  tree  that  I  could  get  for  you 
not  far  from  here.  A  wild-cat  lives  in  it  now,  but 
if  your  grandmother  doesn't  like  wild-cats,  the 
bear  can  easily  drive  him  away.  He  's  a  disagree- 
able fellow,  and  we  shall  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  him 
and  have  a  pleasanter  neighbor.  Does  —  a  —  does 
your  grandmother  scratch  ?" 

"No,  certainly  not!"  said  Toto  indignantly. 
"  She  is  the  best  grandmother  in  the  world. 

2 


18        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

She  never  scratched  anybody  in  her  life,  I  am 
sure." 

"  No  offence,  no  offence,"  said  the  raccoon. 
"My  grandmother  scratched,  and  I  thought  yours 
might.  Most  of  them  do,  in  my  experience." 

"Besides,"  Toto  went  on,  "she  wouldn't  like 
at  all  to  live  in  a  hollow  tree.  She  is  not  used  to 
that  way  of  living,  you  see.  Now,  /have  a  plan, 
and  I  want  you  all  to  help  me  in  it.  In  the 
morning  Granny  is  busy,  so  she  has  not  time  to 
be  lonely.  It's  only  in  the  afternoon,  when  she 
sits  still  and  knits.  So  I  say,  why  shouldn't  you 
all  come  over  to  the  cottage  in  the  afternoon,  and 
talk  to  Granny  instead  of  talking  here  to  each 
other  ?  I  don't  mean  every  afternoon,  of  course, 
but  two  or  three  times  a  week.  She  would  enjoy 
the  stories  and  things  as  much  as  I  do ;  and  she 
would  give  you  gingerbread,  I'm  sure  she  would  ; 
and  perhaps  jam  too,  if  you  were  very  good." 

"  What 's  gingerbread  ?  "  asked  the  bear.  "  And 
what 's  jam  ?  You  do  use  such  queer  words  some- 
times, Toto." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORF  OF  TOTO.         19 

"  Gingerbread  ?  "  said  Toto.  "  Oh,  it 's  —  well, 
it 's  —  why,  it 's  gingerbread,  you  know.  You  don't 
have  anything  exactly  like  it,  so  I  can't  exactly 
tell  you.  But  there 's  molasses  in  it,  and  ginger, 
and  things ;  it 's  good,  anyhow,  very  good.  And 
jam  —  well,  jam  is  sweet,  something  like  honey, 
only  better.  You  will  like  it,  I  know,  Bruin. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  all  say  ?  Will  you  come 
and  try  it?" 

The  bear  looked  at  the  raccoon  ;  the  raccoon 
looked  at  the  squirrel ;  and  the  squirrel  looked  at 
the  wood-pigeon.  The  pretty,  gentle  bird  had 
not  spoken  before ;  but  now,  seeing  all  the  other 
members  of  the  party  undecided,  she  answered 
quietly  and  softly,  "  Yes,  Toto  ;  I  will  come,  and 
I  am  sure  the  others  will,  for  they  are  all  good 
creatures.  You  are  a  dear  boy,  and  we  shall  all 
be  glad  to  give  pleasure  to  you  or  yeur  grand- 
mother." 

The  other  creatures  all  nodded  approval  to  the 
wood-pigeon's  little  speech,  and  Toto  gave  a  sigh 
of  relief  and  satisfaction.  "  That  is  settled,  then," 


20        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

he  said.  "  Thank  you,  dear  pigeon,  and  thank 
you  all.  Now,  when  will  you  come  ?  To-morrow 
afternoon?  The  sooner  the  better,  I  think." 

The  raccoon  looked  critically  at  his  reflection  in 
the  water.  "  Chucky  bit  my  ear  yesterday,"  he 
said,  "  and  it  does  n't  look  very  well  for  making 
visits.  Suppose  we  wait  till  it  is  healed  over. 
Nothing  like  making  a  good  impression  at  first, 
you  know." 

"  Nonsense,  Coon  !  "  growled  the  bear.  "  You 
are  always  thinking  about  your  looks.  I  never 
saw  such  a  fellow.  Let  us  go  to-morrow  if  we 
are  going." 

"  Besides,"  said  Toto,  laughing,  "  Granny  is 
blind,  and  will  not  know  whether  you  have  any 
ears  or  not,  Master  Coon.  So  I  shall  expect  you 
all  to-morrow.  Good-by,  all,  and  thank  you  very 
much."  And  away  ran  Toto,  and  away  went  all 
the  rest  to  get  their  respective  suppers. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


CHAPTER   II. 

RANNY,"  said  To  to  the  next  day,  when  the 
afternoon  shadows  began  to  lengthen,  "  I 
am  expecting  some  friends  here  this  afternoon." 

"  Some  friends,  Toto !  "  exclaimed  his  grand- 
mother in  astonishment.  "My  dear  boy,  what 
friend  have  you  in  the  world  except  your  old 
Granny  ?  You  are  laughing  at  me." 

"No,  I  am  not,  Granny,"  said  the  boy.  "Of 
course  you  are  the  best  friend,  very  much  the 
best ;  but  I  have  some  other  very  good  ones. 
And  I  have  told  them  about  your  being  lonely," 
he  went  on  hurriedly,  glancing  towards  the  wood, 
"  and  they  are  coming  to  see  you  this  afternoon, 
to  talk  to  you  and  tell  you  stories.  In  fact,  I 
think  I  hear  one  of  them  coming  now." 

"But  u'ko  are  they?"  cried  the  astonished  old 
woman,  putting  her  hand  up  at  the  same  time  to 
settle  her  cap  straight,  and  smoothing  her  apron, 


22  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

in  great  trepidation  at  the  approach  of  these  unex- 
pected visitors. 

"  Oh,"  said  Toto,  "  they  are  —  here  is  one  of 
them ! "  and  he  ran  to  meet  the  huge  bear,  who  at 
that  moment  made  his  appearance,  walking  slowly 
and  solemnly  towards  the  cottage.  He  seemed  ill 
at  ease,  and  turned  frequently  to  look  back,  in 
hopes  of  seeing  his  companions. 

"  Grandmother,  this  is  my  friend  Bruin !  "  said 
Toto,  leading  the  bear  up  to  the  horrified  old  lady. 
"  I  am  very  fond  of  Bruin,"  he  added,  "  and  I 
hope  you  and  he  will  be  great  friends.  He  tells 
the  most  delightful  stories." 

Poor  Granny  made  a  trembling  courtesy,  and 
Bruin  stood  up  on  his  hind-legs  and  rocked  slowly 
backwards  and  forwards,  which  was  the  nearest 
approach  he  could  make  to  a  bow.  (N.  B.  He 
looked  so  very  formidable  in  this  attitude,  that  if 
the  old  lady  had  seen  him,  she  would  certainly 
have  fainted  away.  But  she  did  not  see,  and 
Toto  was  used  to  it,  and  saw  nothing  out  of  the 
way  in  it.) 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        23 

"Your  servant,  ma'am,"  said  the  bear.  "I  hope 
I  see  you  well." 

Granny  courtesied  again,  and  replied  in  a  falter- 
ing voice,  "  Quite  well,  thank  you,  Mr.  Bruin.  It 's 

—  it 's  a  fine  day,  sir." 

"  It  is  indeed !  "  said  the  bear  with  alacrity.  "  It 
is  a,  very  fine  day.  I  was  just  about  to  make  the 
same  remark  myself.  I  —  don't  know  when  I 
have  seen  a  finer  day.  In  fact,  I  don't  believe 
there  ever  was  a  finer  day.  A  —  yesterday  was 

—  a  —  not  a  fine  day.     A  — 

"  Look  here ! "  he  added,  in  a  low  growl,  aside 
to  Toto,  u  I  can't  stand  much  more  of  this.  Where 
is  Coon  ?  He  knows  how  to  talk  to  people,  and  I 
don't.  I  'm  not  accustomed  to  it.  Now,  when  I 
go  to  see  my  grandmother,  I  take  her  a  good 
bone,  and  she  hits  me  on  the  head  by  way  of  say- 
ing thank  you,  and  that 's  all.  I  have  a  bone 
somewhere  about  me  now,"  said  poor  Bruin  hesi- 
tatingly, "  but  I  don't  suppose  she  —  eh  ?  " 

"  No,  certainly  not ! "  replied  Toto  promptly. 
"  Not  upon  any  account.  And  here 's  Coon  now, 


24        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

and  the  others  too,   so  you  need  n't  make  any 
more  fine  speeches." 

Bruin,  much  relieved,  sat  down  on  his  haunches, 
and  watched  the  approach  of  his  companions. 

The  raccoon  advanced  cautiously,  yet  with  a 
very  jaunty  air.  The  squirrel  was  perched  on  his 
back,  and  the  wood-pigeon  fluttered  about  his  head, 
in  company  with  a  very  distinguished-looking  gray 
parrot,  with  a  red  tail ;  while  behind  came  a  fat 
woodchuck,  who  seemed  scarcely  more  than  half- 
awake. 

The  creatures  all  paid  their  respects  to  Toto's 
grandmother,  each  in  his  best  mariner;  the  rac- 
coon professed  himself  charmed  to  make  her  ac- 
quaintance. "  It  is  more  than  a  year,"  he  said, 
"  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  your  accom- 
plished grandson.  I  have  esteemed  it  a  high  priv- 
ilege to  converse  with  him,  and  have  enjoyed  his 
society  immensely.  Now  that  I  have  the  further 
happiness  of  becoming  acquainted  with  his  elegant 
and  highly  intellectual  progenitress,  I  feel  that  I 
am  indeed  most  fortunate.  I  —  " 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        25 

But  here  Toto  broke  in  upon  the  stream  of  elo- 
quence. "Oh,  come,  Coon!"  he  cried,  "your 
politeness  is  as  bad  as  Bruin's  shyness.  Why 
can't  we  all  be  jolly,  as  we  usually  are  ?  You  need 
not  be  afraid  of  Granny. 

"  Come,"  he  continued,  "  let  us  have  our  story. 
We  can  all  sit  down  in  a  circle,  and  fancy  ourselves 
around  the  pool.  Whose  turn  is  it  to-day  ?  Yours, 
is  n't  it,  Cracker  ?  " 

"No,"  said  the  squirrel.  "It  is  Coon's  turn. 
I  told  my  story  yesterday." 

"  You  see,  Granny,"  said  Toto,  turning  to  his 
grandmother,  "  we  take  turns  in  telling  stories, 
every  afternoon.  It  is  such  fun!  you'd  like  to 
hear  a  story,  would  n't  you,  Granny  ?  " 

"  Very  much  indeed  !  "  replied  the  good  woman. 
"Will  you  take  a  chair,  Mr.  —  Mr.  Coon?"  she 
asked. 

"Thank  you,  no,"  replied  the  raccoon  gra- 
ciously. "  My  mother  earth  shall  suffice  me." 
And  sitting  down,  he  curled  up  his  tail  in  a 
very  effective  manner,  and  looked  about  him 


26  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

meditatively,  as  if  in  search  of  a  subject  for  his 
story. 

"  My  natural  diffidence,"  he  said,  "  will  render 
it  a  difficult  task,  but  still  —  " 

"  Oh  yes,  we  know  ! "  said  the  squirrel.  "  Your 
natural  diffidence  is  a  fine  thing.  Go  ahead,  old 
fellow!" 

At  this  moment  Mr.  Coon's  sharp  eyes  fell  upon 
the  poultry-yard,  on  the  fence  of  which  a  fine 
Shanghai  cock  was  sitting.  His  face  lighted  up, 
as  if  an  idea  had  just  struck  him.  "  That  is  a  very 
fine  rooster,  madam ! "  he  said,  addressing  the 
grandmother,  —  "a  remarkably  fine  bird.  That 
bird,  madam,  reminds  me  strongly  of  the  Golden- 
breasted  Kootoo." 

"  And  what  is  the  Golden-breasted  Kootoo  ?  " 
asked  the  grandmother. 

The  raccoon  smiled,  and  looked  slyly  round 
upon  his  auditors,  who  had  all  assumed  comfort- 
able attitudes  of  listening,  sure  that  the  story  was 
now  coming. 

"  The  story  of  the  Golden-breasted  Kootoo,"  he 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        27 

said,  "  was  told  to  me  several  years  ago  by  a  dis- 
tinguished foreigner,  a  learned  and  highly  accom- 
plished magpie,  who  formerly  resided  in  this 
vicinity,  but  who  is  now,  unhappily,  no  longer  in 
our  midst." 

"  That 's  a  good  one,  that  is !  "  whispered  the 
woodchuck  to  Toto.  "  He  ate  that  magpie  about 
a  year  ago  ;  said  he  loved  her  so  much  he  could  n't 
help  it.  What  a  fellow  he  is !  " 

"  Hush  ! "  said  Toto.     "  He  's  beginning  !  " 
And  Mr.  Coon,  dropping  his  airs  and   graces, 
told   his   story   in    tolerably   plain    language,    as 
follows  :  — 

THE  GOLDEN-BEEASTED   KOOTOO. 

ONCE  upon  a  time  —  and  a  good  time  it  was  — 
there  lived  a  king.  I  do  not  know  exactly  what 
his  name  was,  or  just  where  he  lived  ;  but  it  does  n't 
matter  at  all :  his  kingdom  was  somewhere  between 
Ashantee  and  Holland,  and  his  name  sounded  a 
little  like  Samuel,  and  a  little  like  Dolabella,  and  a 
good  deal  like  Chimborazo,  and  yet  it  was  not  quite 


28  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

any  of  them.  But,  as  I  said  before,  it  does  n't  mat- 
ter. We  will  call  him  the  King,  and  that  will  be 
all  that  is  necessary,  as  there  is  no  other  king  in 
the  story. 

This  King  was  very  fond  of  nmsic  ;  in  fact,  he 
was  excessively  fond  of  it.  He  kept  four  bands  of 
music  playing  all  day  long.  The  first  was  a  brass 
band,  the  second  was  a  string  band,  the  third  was 
a  rubber  band,  and  the  fourth  was  a  man  who 
played  on  the  jews-harp.  (Some  people  thought 
he  ought  not  to  be  called  a  band,  but  he  said  he 
was  all  the  jews-harp  band  there  was,  and  that  was 
very  true.)  The  four  bands  played  all  day  long 
on  the  four  sides  of  the  grand  courtyard,  and  the 
king  sat  on  a  throne  in  the  middle  and  transncted 
affairs  of  state.  And  when  His  Majesty  went  to 
bed  at  night,  the  grand  chamberlain  wound  up  a 
musical-box  that  was  in  his  pillow,  and  another  one 
in  the  top  bureau-drawer,  and  they  played  "  The 
Dog's-meat  Man "  and  "  Pride  of  the  Pirate's 
Heart"  till  daylight  did  appear. 

One  day  it  occurred  to  the  King  that  it  would  be 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        29 

an  excellent  plan  for  him  to  learn  to  sing.  He 
wondered  that  lie  had  never  thought  of  it  before. 
"  You  see,"  he  said,  "  it  would  amuse  me  very  much 
to  sinar  while  I  am  out  hunting.  I  cannot  take  the 

o  o 

bands  with  me  to  the  forest,  for  they  would  frighten 
away  the  wild  beasts ;  and  I  miss  my  music  very 
much  on  such  occasions.  Yes,  decidedly,  I  will 
learn  to  sing." 

So  he  sent  for  the  Chief  Musician,  and 
ordered  him  to  teach  him  to  sing.  The  Chief 
Musician  was  delighted,  and  said  they  would  begin 
at  once.  So  he  sat  down  at  the  piano,  and  struck 
a  note.  "  0  King,"  he  said,  "  please  sing  this 
note."  And  the  King  sang,  in  a  loud,  deep  voice, 
IYg):  !  — I  ^ie  ^nie^  Musician  was  enchanted. 
1  "  Superb  !  "  he  cried.  "  Magnificent ! 
Now,  0  King,  please  to  sing  this  note !  "  and  he 
struck  another  note  :  ["fc):  ^~ — |  The  King  sang, 
in  a  loud,  deep  ^  ^  voice, 

The    Chief    Musician    looked     grave. 
"  0  King,"  he   said,  "  you  did  not  quite  under- 
stand me.     We  will  try  another  note."     And  he 


30 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


The  King  sang,  in 


voice, 


struck  another  :    p^ — ~ 
a     loud,     deep      £T     l~ 


The   Chief  Musician   looked   dejected.  ^ 

"  I  fear,  0  King,"  he  said,  "  that  you  can  never 


"Take  this  man  and  behead  him  ! "  said  the  King. 

learn  to  sing."  "  What  do  you  mean  by  that, 
Chief  Musician  ?  "  asked  the  King.  "  It  is  your 
business  to  teach  me  to  sing.  Do  you  not  know 
how  to  teach  ?  "  "  No  man  knows  better,"  replied 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        31 

the  Chief  Musician.  "  But  Your  Majesty  has 
no  ear  for  music.  You  never  can  sing  but  one 
note." 

At  these  words  the  King  grew  purple  in  the  face. 
He  said  nothing,  for  he  was  a  man  of  few  words; 
but  he  rang  a  large  bell,  and  an  executioner  ap- 
peared. "  Take  this  man  and  behead  him !  "  said 
the  King.  "  And  send  me  the  Second  Musician  !  " 

The  Second  Musician  came,  looking  very  grave, 
for  he  had  heard  the  shrieks  of  his  unhappy  supe- 
rior as  he  was  dragged  off  to  execution,  and  he  had 
no  desire  to  share  his  fate.  He  bowed  low,  and 
demanded  His  Majesty's  pleasure.  "  Teach  me  to 
sing  !  "  said  His  Majesty.  So  the  Second  Musician 
sat  down  at  the  piano,  and  tried  several  notes,  just 
as  the  Chief  Musician  had  done,  and  with  the  same 
result.  Whatever  note  was  struck,  the  King  still 
saner.  ESlIEEji: 


Now  the  Second  Musician  was  a  quick-witted 
fellow,  and  he  saw  in  a  moment  what  the  trouble 
had  been  with  his  predecessor,  and  saw,  too,  what 
great  peril  he  was  in  himself.  So  he  assumed  a 


32        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

look  of  grave  importance,  and  said  solemnly, 
"  0  King,  this  is  a  very  serious  matter.  I  cannot 
conceal  from  you  that  there  are  great  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  your  learning  to  sing  —  "  The  King 
looked  at  the  bell.  "  BUT,"  said  the  Second  Musi- 
cian, "  they  can  be  overcome."  The  King  looked 
away  again.  "  I  beg,"  said  the  Second  Musician, 
"  for  twentv-four  hours'  time  for  consideration.  At 

•/ 

the  end  of  that  time  I  shall  have  decided  upon  the 
best  method  of  teaching ;  and  I  am  bound  to  say 
this  to  Your  Majesty,  that  IF  you  learn  to  sing  —  " 
"  WHAT  ? "  said  the  King,  looking  at  the  bell 
again.  "  That  WHEN  .you  learn  to  sing,"  said  the 
Second  Musician  hastily,  — "  when  you  learn  to 
sing,  your  singing  will  be  like  no  other  that  has 
ever  been  heard.''  This  pleased  the  King,  and  he 
graciously  accorded  the  desired  delay. 

Accordingly  the  Second  Musician  took  his  leave 
with  great  humility,  and  spent  all  that  night  and 
the  following  day  plunged  in  the  deepest  thought. 
As  soon  as  the  twenty-four  hours  had  elapsed  he 
again  appeared  before  the  King,  who  was  await- 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        33 

ing  liim  impatiently,  sitting  on  the  music-stool. 
"  Well  ?  "  said  the  King.  "  Quite  well,  0  King,  I 
thank  you,"  replied  the  Second  Musician,  "  though 
somewhat  fatigued  by  my  labors."  "  Pshaw  !  " 
said  the  King  impatiently.  "  Have  you  found  a 
way  of  teaching  me  to  sing  ?  "  "I  have,  0  King," 
replied  the  Second  Musician  solemnly ;  "  but  it  is 
not  an  easy  way.  Nevertheless  it  is  the  only  one." 
The  King  assured  him  that  money  was  no  object, 
and  begged  him  to  unfold  his  plan.  "  In  order  to 
learn  to  sing,"  said  the  Second  Musician,  "you 
must  eat  a  pie  composed  of  all  the  singing-birds  in 
the  wrorld.  In  this  way  only  can  the  difficulty 
of  your  having  no  natural  ear  for  music  be  over- 
come. If  a  single  bird  is  omitted,  or  if  you  do  not 
consume  the  wrhole  pie,  the  charm  will  have  no 
effect,  I  leave  Your  Majesty  to  judge  of  the 
difficulty  of  the  undertaking." 

Difficulty?  The  King  would  not  admit  that 
there  was  such  a  word.  He  instantly  summoned 
his  Chief  Huntsman,  and  ordered  him  to  send 
other  huntsmen  to  every  country  in  the  world,  to 


34        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

bring  back  a  specimen  of  every  kind  of  singing- 
bird.  Accordingly,  as  there  were  sixty  countries 
in  the  world  at  that  time,  sixty  huntsmen  started 
off  immediately,  fully  armed  and  equipped. 

After  they  were  gone,  the  King,  who  was  very 
impatient,  summoned  his  Wise  Men,  and  bade 
them  look  in  all  the  books,  and  find  out  how 
many  kinds  of  singing-birds  there  were  in  the 
world.  The  Wise  Men  all  put  their  spectacles 
on  their  noses,  and  their  noses  into  their  books, 
and  after  studying  a  long  time,  and  adding  up 
on  their  slates  the  number  of  birds  described  in 
each  book,  they  found  that  there  were  in  all  nine 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  varieties 
of  singing-birds. 

They  made  their  report  to  the  King,  and  he 
was  rather  troubled  by  it;  for  he  remembered 
that  the  Second  Musician  had  said  he  must  eat 
every  morsel  of  the  pie  himself,  or  the  charm 
would  have  no  effect.  It  would  be  a  very  large 
pie,  he  thpught,  with  nine  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  birds  in  it.  "  The  only  way,"  he 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        35 

said  to  himself,  "  will  be  for  me  to  eat  as  little  as 
possible  until  the  huntsmen  come  back ;  then  I 
shall  be  very  hungry.  I  have  never  been  very 
hungry  in  my  life,  so  there  is  no  knowing  how 
much  I  could  eat  if  I  were."  So  the  King  ate 
nothing  from  one  week's  end  to  another,  except 
bread  and  dripping ;  and  by  the  time  the  hunts- 
men returned  he  was  so  thin  that  it  was  really 
shocking. 

At  last,  after  a  long  time,  the  sixty  huntsmen 
returned,  laden  down  with  huge  bags,  the  contents 
of  which  they  piled  up  in  a  great  heap  in  the 
middle  of  the  courtyard.  A  mountain  of  birds ! 
Such  a  thing  had  never  been  seen  before.  The 
mountain  was  so  high  that  everybody  thought  the 
full  number  of  birds  must  be  there  ;  and  the  Chief 
Cook  began  to  make  his  preparations,  and  sent  to 
borrow  the  garden  roller  from  John  the  gardener, 
as  his  own  was  not  big  enough  to  roll  out  such  a 
quantity  of  paste. 

The  King  and  the  Wise  Men  next  proceeded  to 
count  the  birds.  But  alas  !  what  was  their  sorrow 


36  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

to  find  that  the  number  fell  short  by  one  !  They 
counted  again  and  again ;  but  it  was  of  no  use  : 
there  were  only  nine  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  birds  in  the  pile. 

The  next  thing  was  to  find  out  what  bird  was 
missing.  So  the  Wise  Men  sorted  all  the  birds, 
and  compared  them  with  the  pictures  in  the  books, 
and  studied  so  hard  that  they  wore  out  three  pairs 
of  spectacles  apiece ;  and  at  last  they  discovered 
that  the  missing  bird  was  the  "  Golden  breasted 
Kootoo."  The  chief  Wise  Man  read  aloud  from 
the  biggest  book  :  — 

"  The  Golden-breasted  Kootoo,  the  most  beau- 
tiful and  the  most  melodious  of  singing  birds, 
is  found  only  in  secluded  parts  of  the  Vale  of 
Coringo.  Its  plumage  is  of  a  brilliant  golden 
yellow,  except  on  the  back,  where  it  is  streaked 
with  green.  Its  beak  is  —  " 

"  There  !  there  !  "  interrupted  the  King  impa- 
tiently ;  "  never  mind  about  its  beak.  Tell  the 
Lord  Chamberlain  to  pack  my  best  wig  and  a  clean 
shirt,  and  send  them  after  me  by  a  courier;  and, 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  37 

Chief  Huntsman,  follow  me.     We  start  this  mo- 
ment for  the  Yale  of  Coringo  !  " 

And  actually,  if  you  will  believe  it,  the  King 
did  start  off  in  less  than  an  hour  from  the  counting 


"  He  rode  on  hoi'seback,  and  was  accompanied  only  by  the  Chief 
Huntsman  and  the  jews-harp  band." 

of  the  birds.  He  rode  on  horseback,  and  was  ac- 
companied only  by  the  Chief  Huntsman  and  the 
jews-harp  band,  the  courier  being  obliged  to  wait 
for  the  King's  best  \vig  to  be  curled. 


38        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

The  poor  Band  had  a  hard  time  of  it ;  for  he 
had  a  very  frisky  horse,  and  found  it  extremely 
difficult  to  manage  the  beast  with  one  hand  and 
hold  the  jews-harp  with  the  other ;  but  the  King, 
with  much  ingenuity,  fastened  the  head  of  the 
horse  to  the  tail  of  his  own  steady  cob,  thereby 
enabling  the  musician  to  give  all  his  attention  to 
his  instrument.  The  music  was  a  trifle  jerky  at 
times;  but  what  of  that?  It  was  music,  and  the 
King  was  satisfied. 

They  rode  night  and  day,  and  at  length  ar- 
rived at  the  Vale  of  Coringo,  and  took  lodgings  at 
the  principal  hotel.  The  King  was  very  weary, 
as  he  had  been  riding  for  a  week  without  stop- 
ping. So  he  went  to  bed  at  once,  and  slept  for 
two  whole  days. 

On  the  morning  of  the  third  day  he  was  roused 
from  a  wonderful  dream  (in  which  he  was  singing 
a  duet  with  the  Golden-breasted  Kootoo,  to  a 
jews-harp  accompaniment)  by  the  sound  of  music. 
The  King  sat  up  in  bed,  and  listened.  It  was  a 
bird's  song  that  he  heard,  and  it  seemed  to  come 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


39 


from  the  vines  outside  his  window.  But  what  a 
song  it  was !  And  what  a  bird  it  must  be  that 
could  utter  such  won- 
drous sounds !  He  list- 
ened, too  enchanted  to 
move,  while  the  magi- 
cal song  swelled  louder 
and  clearer,  filling  the 


air  with  me- 
lody. At  last 
he  rose,  and 
crept  softly 
to  the  win- 
dow. There, 
on  a  swinging  vine,  sat  a  beautiful  bird,  all  golden 
yellow,  with  streaks  of  green  on  its  back.  It  was 


9f*>3l€&Mir-> 

^L^^— -^     r*; 

"Seizing  his  gun,  he  hastily  descended  the  stairs." 


40        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

the  Golden-breasted  Kootoo !  There  could  be  no 
doubt  about  it,  even  if  its  marvellous  song  had 
not  announced  it  as  the  sweetest  singer  of  the 
whole  world.  Very  quietly,  but  trembling  with 
excitement,  the  King  put  on  his  slippers  and  his 
flowered  dressing-gown,  and  seizing  his  gun,  he 
hastily  descended  the  stairs. 

It  was  early  dawn,  and  nobody  was  awake  in 
the  hotel  except  the  Boots,  who  was  blacking  his 
namesakes  in  the  back  hall.  He  saw  the  King 
come  down,  and  thought  he  had  come  to  get  his 
boots ;  but  the  monarch  paid  no  attention  to  him, 
quietly  unbolted  the  front  door,  and  slipped  out 
into  the  garden.  Was  he  too  late  ?  Had  the 
bird  flown  ?  No,  the  magic  song  still  rose  from 
the  vines  outside  his  chamber-window.  But  even 
now,  as  the  King  approached,  a  fluttering  was 
heard,  and  the  Golden-breasted  Kootoo,  spreading 
its  wings,  flew  slowly  away  over  the  garden  wall, 
and  away  towards  the  mountain  which  rose  just 
behind  the  hotel.  The  King  followed,  clamber- 
ing painfully  over  the  high  wall,  and  leaving  frag- 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.         41 

ments  of  his  brocade  dressing-gown  on  the  sharp 
spikes  which  garnished  it.  Once  over,  he  made 
all  speed,  and  found  that  he  could  well  keep  the 
bird  in  sight,  for  it  was  flying  very  slowly.  A 
provoking  bird  it  was,  to  be  sure  !  It  would  fly  a 
little  way,  and  then,  alighting  on  a  bush  or  hang- 
ing spray,  would  pour  forth  a  flood  of  melody,  as 
if  inviting  its  pursuer  to  corne  nearer ;  but  before 
the  unhappy  King  could  get  within  gunshot,  it 
would  flutter  slowly  onward,  keeping  just  out  of 
reach,  and  uttering  a  series  of  mocking  notes, 
which  seemed  to  laugh  at  his  efforts.  On  and  on 
flew  the  bird,  up  the  steep  mountain ;  on  and  on 
went  the  King  in  pursuit.  It  is  all  very  well  to 
fly  up  a  mountain  ;  but  to  crawl  and  climb  up,  with 
a  heavy  gun  in  one's  hand,  and  one's  dressing- 
gown  catching  on  every  sharp  point  of  rock,  and 
the  tassel  of  one's  nightcap  bobbing  into  one's 
eyes,  is  a  very  different  matter,  I  can  tell  you. 
But  the  King  never  thought  of  stopping  for  an 
instant;  not  he!  He  lost  first  one  slipper,  and 
then  the  other ;  the  cord  and  tassels  of  his  dress- 


42        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

ing-gown  tripped  him  up,  so  that  he  fell  and 
almost  broke  his  nose ;  and  finally  his  gun  slipped 
from,  his  hold  and  went  crashing  down  over  a 
precipice ;  but  still  the  King  climbed  on  and  on, 
breathless  but  undaunted. 

At  length,  at  the  very  top  of  the  mountain,  as 
it  seemed,  the  bird  made  a  longer  pause  than 
usual.  It  lighted  on  a  point  of  rock,  and  folding 
its  wings,  seemed  really  to  wait  for  the  King, 
singing,  meanwhile,  a  song  of  the  most  inviting 
and  encouraging  description.  Nearer  and  nearer 
crept  the  King,  and  still  the  bird  did  not  move. 
He  was  within  arm's-length,  and  was  just  stretch- 
ing out  his  arm  to  seize  the  prize,  when  it  flut- 
tered off  the  rock.  Frantic  with  excitement,  the 
King  made  a  desperate  clutch  after  it,  and  — 

PART   II. 

AT  eight  o'clock  the  landlady  knocked  at  the 
King's  door.  "  Hot  water,  Your  Majesty,"  she 
said.  "Shall  I  bring  the  can  in?  And  the  Band 
desires  his  respects,  and  would  you  wish  him  to 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.         43 

play  while  you  are  a-dressing,  being  as  you  did  n't 
bring  a  music-box  with  you  ?  " 

Receiving-   no    answer,  after   knocking  several 

O  '  O 

times,  the  good  woman  opened  the  door  very 
cautiously,  and  peeped  in,  fully  expecting  to  see 
the  royal  night-cap  reposing  calmly  on  the  pillow. 
What  was  her  amazement  at  finding  the  room 
empty ;  no  sign  of  the  King  was  to  be  seen, 
although  his  pink-silk  knee-breeches  lay  on  a 
chair,  and  his  ermine  mantle  and  his  crown  were 
hanging  on  a  peg  against  the  wall. 

The  landlady  gave  the  alarm  at  once.  The 
King  had  disappeared !  He  had  been  robbed, 
murdered;  the  assassins  had  chopped  him  up  into 
little  pieces  and  carried  him  away  in  a  bundle- 
handkerchief!  "Murder!  police!  fire!  !  !  !" 

In  the  midst  of  the  wild  confusion  the  voice 
of  the  Boots  was  heard.  "  Please,  'in,  I  see 
His  Majesty  go  out  at  about  five  o'clock  this 
morning." 

Again  the  chorus  rose :  he  had  run  away ;  he 
had  gone  to  surprise  and  slay  the  King  of  Coringo 


44        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

while  he  was  taking  his  morning  chocolate ;  he 
had  gone  to  take  a  bath  in  the  river,  and  was 
drowned  !  "  Murder !  police  !  " 

The  voice  of  the  Boots  was  heard  again.  "  And 
please,  'm,  he  's  a  sittin'  out  in  the  courtyard  now  ; 
and  please,  'm,  I  think  he  's  crazy  !  " 

Out  rushed  everybody,  pell-mell,  into  the  court- 
yard. There,  on  the  ground,  sat  the  King,  with 
his  tattered  dressing-gown  wrapped  majestically 
about  him.  An  ecstatic  smile  illuminated  his  face, 
while  he  clasped  in  his  arms  a  large  bird  with 
shining  plumage. 

"  Bless  me  !  "  cried  the  poultry-woman.  "  If  he 
has  n't  got  my  Shanghai  rooster  that  I  could  n't 
catch  last  night !  " 

The  King,  hearing  voices,  looked  round,  and 
smiled  graciously  on  the  astonished  crowd. 
"  Good  people,"  he  said,  "  success  has  crowned  my 
efforts.  I  have  found  the  Golden-breasted  Koo- 
too  !  You  shall  all  have  ten  pounds  apiece,  in 
honor  of  this  joyful  event,  and  the  landlady  shall 
be  made  a  baroness  in  her  own  right !  " 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        45 

"  But,"  said  the  poultry-woman,  "  it  is  my 
Shang  —  " 

"  Be  still,  you  idiot !  "  whispered  the  landlady, 
putting  her  hand  over  the  woman's  mouth.  "  Do 
you  want  to  lose  your  ten  pounds  and  your  head 
too  ?  If  the  King  has  caught  the  Golden-breasted 
Kootoo,  why,  then  it  is  the  Golden-breasted  Koo- 
too,  as  sure  as  I  am  a  baroness  ! "  and  she  added 
in  a  still  lower  tone,  "  There  has  n't  been  a  Kootoo 
seen  in  the  Vale  for  ten  years  ;  the  birds  have 
died  out." 

Great  were  the  rejoicings  at  the  palace  when 
the  King  returned  in  triumph,  bringing  with  him 
the  much-coveted  prize,  the  Golden-breasted  Koo- 
too. The  bands  played  until  they  almost  killed 
themselves ;  the  cooks  waved  their  ladles  and  set 
to  work  at  once  on  the  pie  ;  the  huntsmen  sang 
hunting-songs.  All  was  joy  and  rapture,  except 
in  the  breast  of  one  man  ;  that  man  was  the  Sec- 
ond Musician,  or,  as  we  should  now  call  him,  the 
Chief  Musician.  He  felt  no  thrill  of  joy  at  sight  of 
the  wondrous  bird ;  on  the  contrary,  he  made  his 


46         THE  JOYOUS  STOKY  OF  TOTO. 

will,  and  prepared  to  leave  the  country  at  once ; 
but  when  the  pie  was  finished,  and  he  saw  its  huge 
dimensions,  he  was  comforted.  "  No  man,"  he  said 
to  himself,  l  can  eat  the  whole  of  that  pie  and 
live!" 

Alas  !  he  was  right.  The  unhappy  King  fell  a 
victim  to  his  musical  ambition  before  he  had  half 
finished  his  pie,  and  died  in  a  lit.  His  subjects  ate 
the  remainder  of  the  mighty  pasty,  with  mingled 
tears  and  smiles,  as  a  memorial  feast ;  and  if  the 
Golden-breasted  Kootoo  ivas  a  Shanghai  rooster, 
nobody  in  the  kingdom  was  ever  the  wiser  for  it. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        47 


CHAPTER    III. 

'"P'HE  raccoon's  story  was  received  with  general 
approbation ;  and  the  grandmother,  in  par- 
ticular, declared  she  had  not  passed  so  pleasant  an 
hour  for  a  very  long  time.  The  good  woman  was 
gradually  becoming  accustomed  to  her  strange 
visitors,  and  ventured  to  address  them  with  a  lit- 
tle more  freedom,  though  she  still  trembled  and 
clutched  her  knitting-needles  tighter  when  she 
heard  the  bear's  deep  tones. 

"It  is  really  very  good  of  you  all,"  she  said, 
"  to  take  compassion  upon  my  loneliness.  Before 
I  came  to  this  cottage  I  lived  in  a  large  town, 
where  I  had  many  friends,  and  I  find  the  change 
very  great,  and  the  life  here  very  solitary.  In- 
deed, if  it  were  not  for  my  dear  little  Toto,  I 
should  lead  quite  the  life  of  a  hermit." 

"  What  is  a  hermit  ?  "  asked  the  bear,  who  had 


48  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

an  inquiring  mind,  and  liked  to  know  the  meaning 
of  words. 

"  It  is  a  crab,"  said  the  parrot.  "  I  have  often 
seen  them  in  the  West  Indies.  They  get  into  the 
shells  of  other  crabs,  and  drive  the  owners  out. 
A  wretched  set !  " 

"  Oh,  dear !  "  cried  the  grandmother.  "  That  is 
not  at  all  the  kind  of  hermit  I  mean.  A  hermit 
in  this  country  is  a  man  who  lives  quite  alone, 
without  any  companions,  in  some  uninhabited 
region,  such  as  a  wood  or  a  lonely  hillside." 

"Is  it?  "  exclaimed  the  bear  and  the  squirrel 
at  the  same  moment.  "Why,  then,  we  know  one." 

"  Certainly,"  the  squirrel  went  on  ;  "  Old  Bald- 
head  must  be  a  hermit,  of  course.  He  lives  alone, 
and  in  an  uninhabited  region;  that  is,  what  you 
would  call  uninhabited,  I  suppose." 

"  How  very  interesting  !  Where  does  he  live  ?  " 
asked  Toto.  "  Who  is  he  ?  How  is  it  that  I  have 
never  seen  him  ?  " 

"  Oh,  he  lives  quite  at  the  other  end  of  the 
wood  ! "  replied  the  squirrel ;  "  some  ten  miles  or 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        49 

more  from  here.  You  have  never  been  so  far,  my 
dear  boy,  and  Old  Baldhead  is  n't  likely  to  come 
into  our  part  of  the  wood.  He  paid  us  one  visit 
several  years  ago,  and  that  was  enough  for  him, 
eh,  Bruin  ?  " 

'•  Humph !  I  think  so ! "  said  Bruin,  smiling 
grimly.  "  He  seemed  quite  satisfied,  I  thought." 

"  Tell  us  about  his  visit !  "  cried  To  to  eagerly. 
"  I  have  never  heard  anything  about  him,  and  I 
know  it  must  be  funny,  or  you  would  not  chuckle 
so,  Bruin." 

"  Well,"  said  the  bear,  "  there  is  n't  much  to 
tell,  but  you  shall  hear  all  I  know.  /  call  that 
hermit,  if  that  is  his  name,  a  very  impudent 
fellow.  Just  fancy  this,  will  you  ?  One  evening, 
late  in  the  autumn,  about  three  years  ago,  I  was 
coming  home  from  a  long  ramble,  very  tired  and 
hungry.  I  had  left  a  particularly  nice  comb  of 
honey  and  some  other  little  things  in  my  cave, 
all  ready  for  supper,  for  I  knew  when  I  started 
that  I  should  be  late,  and  I  was  looking  forward 
to  a  very  comfortable  evening. 

4 


50        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  Well,  when  I  came  to  the  door  of  my  cave, 
what  should  I  see  but  an  old  man  with  a  long 
gray  beard,  sitting  on  the  ground  eating  my 
honey  ! "  Here  the  bear  looked  around  with  a 
deeply  injured  air,  and  there  was  a  general  mur- 
mur of  sympathy. 

"  Your  course  was  obvious  !  "  said  the  raccoon. 
"  Why  did  n't  you  eat  him,  stupid  ?  " 

"  Hush !  "  whispered  the  wood-pigeon  softly. 
"  You  must  not  say  things  like  that,  Coon  !  you 
will  frighten  the  old  lady."  And  indeed,  the 
grandmother  seemed  much  discomposed  by  the 
raccoon's  suggestion. 

"Wouldn't  have  been  polite!"  replied  Bruin. 
"  My  own  house,  you  know,  and  all  that.  Be- 
sides," he  added  in  an  undertone,  with  an  appre- 
hensive glance  at  the  grandmother,  "he  was  old, 
and  probably  very  —  " 

"  Ahem  !  "  said  Toto  in  a  warning  voice. 

"  Oh,  certainly  not ! "  said  the  bear  hastily, 
"  not  upon  any  account.  I  was  about  to  make  the 
same  remark  myself.  A  —  where  was  I  ?  " 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


51 


"  The  old  man  was  eating  your  honey,"  said  the 
woodchuck. 

"  Of  course  !  "  replied  Bruin.  "  So,  though  I 
would  not  have  hurt  him  for  the  world"  (with 


"I  only  stood  up  on  my  hind  legs." 

another  glance  towards  the  grandmother),  "I 
thought  there  would  be  no  harm  in  frightening 
him  a  little.  Accordingly,  I  first  made  a  great 
noise  among  the  bushes,  snapping  the  twigs  and 


52  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

rustling  the  leaves  at  a  great  rate.  He  stopped 
eating,  and  looked  and  listened,  listened  and 
looked ;  did  n't  seem  to  like  it  much,  I  thought. 
Then,  when  he  was  pretty  thoroughly  roused,  I 
came  slowly  forward,  and  planted  myself  directly 
in  front  of  the  cave." 

"  Dear  me  !  "  cried  the  grandmother.  "  How 
very  dreadful !  poor  old  man !  " 

a  Well  now,  ma'am !  "  said  Bruin  appealingly, 
"  he  had  no  right  to  steal  my  honey ;  now  had 
he  ?  And  I  did  n't  hurt  a  hair  of  his  head,"  he 
continued.  "  I  only  stood  up  on  my  hind-legs 
and  waved  my  fore-paws  round  and  round  like 
a  windmill,  and  roared." 

A  general  burst  of  merriment  greeted  this  state- 
ment, from  all  except  the  grandmother,  who  shud- 
dered in  sympathy  with  the  unfortunate  hermit. 

"  Well  ?  "  asked  Toto,  u  and  what  did  he  do 
then?" 

"  Why,"  said  Bruin,  "  he  crouched  down  in  a 
little  heap  on  the  ground,  and  squeezed  himself 
against  the  wall  of  the  cave,  evidently  expecting 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  53 

me  to  rush  upon  him  and  tear  him  to  pieces ; 
I  sat  down  in  front  of  him  and  looked  at  him  for 
a  few  minutes ;  then,  when  I  thought  he  had 
had  about  enough,  I  walked  past  him  into  the 
cave,  and  then  he  ran  away.  He  has  never  made 
me  another  visit." 

u  No,"  said  the  squirrel ;  "  he  went  home  to 
his  own  cave  at  the  other  end  of  the  wood,  and 
built  a  barricade  round  it,  and  did  n't  put  his  nose 
out  of  doors  for  a  week  after.  I  have  a  cousin 
who  lives  in  that  neighborhood,  and  he  told  me 
about  it." 

"  Have  you  ever  been  over  there  ? "  asked 
Toto. 

"  Yes,  indeed  !  "  replied  the  squirrel,  "  hundreds 

of  times.     I  often  go  over  to  spend  the  day  with 

• 

my  cousin,  and  we  amuse  ourselves  by  dropping 
nuts  on  the  hermit's  head  as  he  sits  in  front  of 
his  cave.  I  know  few  things  more  amusing,"  he 
continued,  turning  to  the  grandmother,  "than 
dropping  nuts  on  a  bald  head.  You  can  make 
bets  as  to  how  high  they  will  go  on  the  rebound. 


54        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

Have  you  ever  tried  it,  ma'am  ?  sitting  in  a  tree, 
you  know." 

"Never!"  replied  the  grandmother  with  much 
dignity.  "  In  my  youth  it  was  not  the  custom 
for  gentlewomen  to  sit  in  trees  for  any  purpose; 
and  if  it  had  been,  I  trust  I  should  have  had  more 
respect  for  age  and  infirmity  than  to  amuse  my- 
self in  the  manner  you  suggest." 

The  squirrel  was  somewhat  abashed  at  this,  and 
scratched  his  ear  to  hide  his  embarrassment. 

The  pause  which  ensued  gave  the  raccoon  an 
opportunity  for  which  he  had  been  waiting.  He 
addressed  the  grandmother  in  his  most  honeyed 
accents  :  — 

"  Our  ways,  dear  madam,"  he  said,  "  are  neces- 
sarily very  different  from  yours.  There  must  be 
much  in  our  woodland  life  that  seems  rough,  and 
possibly  even  savage,  to  a  person  of  refinement 
and  culture  like  yourself.  While  we  roam  about 
in  the  untutored  forest"  ("Hear!  hear!"  in- 
terrupted the  squirrel.  "'Untutored  forest'  is 
good!"),  "you  remain  in  the  elegant  atmosphere 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        55 

of  your  polished  home.  While  we  fare  hardly, 
snatching  a  precarious  and  scanty  subsistence  from 
roots  and  herbs,  you,  lapped  in  intellectual  and 
highly  cultivated  leisure,  while  away  the  hours  by 
manufacturing  gingerbread  and  —  a  —  jam."  The 
raccoon  here  waved  his  tail,  and  gave  Toto  a  look 
whose  craftiness  cannot  be  described  in  words. 

Toto  took  the  hint.  "  Dear  me ! "  he  cried. 
"  Of  course !  how  stupid  of  me  !  Grandmother,  is 
there  any  gingerbread  in  the  house  ?  My  friends 
have  never  tasted  any,  and  I  should  like  to  give 
them  some  of  yours." 

"  Certainly,  my  dear  boy,"  said  the  good  old 
lady ;  "  by  all  means.  I  have  just  made  some 
this  afternoon.  Bring  a  good  plateful,  and  bring 
a  pot  of  raspberry  jam,  too.  Perhaps  Mr.  Coon 
would  like  a  little  of  that." 

Mr.  Coon  did  like  a  little  of  that.  In  fact,  Mr. 
Coon  would  have  liked  the  whole  pot,  and  would 
have  taken  it,  too,  if  it  had  not  been  for  Toto, 
who  declared  that  it  must  be  share  and  share 
alike.  He  gave  them  each  a  spoon,  and  let  them 


56        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

help  themselves  in  turn,  observing  the  strictest 
impartiality. 

The  feast  seemed  to  be  highly  enjoyed  by  all. 

"  Well,  Bruin,  how  do  you  like  jam  ?  "  asked 
Toto. 

"  Very  much,  very  much  indeed !  "  replied  the 
bear.  '•  Something  like  honey,  is  n't  it,  only  en- 
tirely different?  What  kind  of  creatures  make  it? 
Butterflies  ? " 

"  Lady  makes  it  herself,  stupid  !  "  muttered  the 
woodchuck,  who  was  out  of  temper,  having  just 
tried  to  get  a  spoonful  out  of  turn,  and  failed. 
"  Did  n't  you  hear  her  say  so  ?  Butterflies  never 
make  anything  except  butter." 

The  little  squirrel  sat  nibbling  his  gingerbread 
in  a  state  of  great  satisfaction.  "  Who  's  to  tell 
the  story  next  time  ?  "  he  asked  presently. 

"  Parrot,"  answered  the  raccoon,  with  his  mouth 
full  of  jam.  "  Parrot  promised  ever  so  long  ago 
to  tell  us  a  story  about  Africa.  Did  n't  you, 
Polly?" 

The    parrot   drew   herself  up   with   an   air   of 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        57 

offended  dignity.  c;  The  gentlemen  of  my  ac- 
quaintance, Mr.  Coon,"  she  said,  "call  me  Miss 
Mary.  I  am  '  Polly '  to  a  few  intimates  only." 

"  Oh,  indeed  !  "  said  the  raccoon.  "  I  beg  your 
pardon,  Miss  Mary.  No  offence,  I  trust?" 

Miss  Mary  unbent  a  little,  and  condescended  to 
explain.  "My  real  name,"  she  said,  "is  Cham- 
chamchamchamkickeryboo ;  but,  not  understand- 
ing the  subtleties  of  our  African  languages,  I  do 
not  expect  you  to  pronounce  that.  '  Miss  Mary ' 
will  do  very  well;  though,"  she  added,  "I  have 
been  called  Princess  in  happier  days." 

"  When  was  that  ?  "  inquired  Toto.  "  Tell  us 
about  it,  Miss  Mary." 

"  No,  no  !  "  interrupted  the  bear.  "  No  more 
stories  to-night.  •  It  is  too  late.  We  must  be  get- 
ting home,  or  the  owls  will  be  after  us." 

"  To-morrow,  then,"  cried  Toto.  "  Will  you  all 
come  to-morrow  ?  Then  we  will  hear  the  parrot's 
story." 

The  animals  all  promised  to  come  on  the  mor- 
row, and  each  in  turn  took  leave  of  the  grand- 


58        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

mother,  thanking  her  for  the  treat  they  had  had. 
The  bear,  after  making  his  best  bow,  led  the  way 
towards  the  forest,  followed  by  the  raccoon,  the 
wood  chuck,  the  squirrel,  the  parrot,  and  the  wood- 
pigeon.  And  soon  the  whole  company  disappeared 
among  the  branches. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        59 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"  T  WAS  born."  said  the  parrot,  "  in  Africa." 

It  was  a  lovely  afternoon ;  and  Toto's 
friends  were  again  assembled  around  the  cottage- 
door.  The  parrot,  as  the  story-teller  of  the  day, 
was  perched  in  great  state  on  the  high  back  of  an 
old-fashioned  easy-chair,  which  Toto  had  brought 
out  for  his  grandmother.  The  old  lady  sat  quietly 
knitting,  with  Bruin  on  one  side  of  her,  and  Coon 
on  the  other ;  while  Toto  lay  on  the  grass  at  her 
feet,  alternately  caressing  the  wood-pigeon  and 
poking  the  woodchuck  to  wake  him  up. 

When  the  parrot  said,  "  I  was  born  in  Africa," 
all  the  animals  looked  very  wise,  but  said  nothing ; 
so  she  added,  "  Of  course,  you  all  know  where 
Africa  is." 

"Of  course,"  said  the  raccoon  hastily;  "cer- 
tainly, I  should  hope  so  !  We  know  where  it  is ; 
if  you  come  to  that,  we  know  where  it  is." 


60  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

"  Coon,"  said  Toto,  laughing,  "  what  a  humbug 
you  are !  How  is  Africa  bounded,  old  fellow  ? 
Tell  us,  if  you  know  so  well." 

"  North  by  the  Gulf  States,  south  by  Kalamazoo, 
east  by  Mt.  Everest,  and  west  by  the  Straits  of 
Frangipanni,"  replied  the  raccoon,  without  a 
moment's  hesitation. 

Miss  Mary  looked  much  disgusted.  "  Africa," 
she  said,  "  as  every  person  of  education  knows 
[with  a  withering  glance  at  the  raccoon],  is  the 
exact  centre  of  the  universe.  It  is  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  all  lands,  —  a  land  of  palm-trees  and 
crocodiles,  ivory  and  gold-dust,  sunn}*  fountains 
and  —  " 

"  Oh  !  "  cried  To  to  eagerly,  "  excuse  me  for 
interrupting,  Miss  Mary ;  but  are  the  sands  really 
golden?  ' Where  Afric's  sunny  fountains,'  you 
know,  '  roll  down  their  golden  sands,'  —  is  that 
really  true?" 

"  Certainly,"  replied  Miss  Mary. 

"  Dear  me,  yes.  A  fountain  would  n't  be  called 
a  fountain  in  Africa  if  it  hadn't  golden  sands.  It 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        61 

would  be  called  a  cucumber-wood  pump,"  sug- 
gested the  woodchuck  drowsily. 

"  Toto,"  said  the  parrot  sharply,  "  if  I  am  in- 
terrupted any  more,  I  shall  go  home.  Will  that 
woodchuck  be  quiet,  or  will  he  not  ?  " 

"  He  will,  he  will  !  "  cried  Toto.  "  We  will  all 
be  very  quiet,  Miss  Mary,  and  not  say  a  word. 
Pray  go  on." 

Miss  Mary  smoothed  her  feathers,  which  had 
become  quite  ruffled,  and  continued, — 

"  I  was  not  a  common  wild  parrot,  —  I  should 
think  not,  indeed  !  My  mother  came  of  a  distin- 
guished family,  and  was  the  favorite  bird  of  the 
great  Bhughabhoo,  King  of  Central  Africa ;  and  I, 
as  soon  as  I  was  fully  fledged,  became  the  pet  and 
darling  of  his  only  daughter,  the  Princess  Polpetti. 
Ah  !  happy,  indeed,  were  the  first  years  of  my  life  ! 
I  was  the  Princess's  constant  companion.  She 
used  to  make  songs  in  my  honor,  and  sing  them  to 
her  royal  father  while  he  drank  his  rum-and-water. 
They  were  lovely  songs.  Would  you  like  to  hear 
one  of  them  ?  " 


62  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

All  the  company  declared  that  it  was  the  one 
desire  of  their  hearts.  So,  clearing  her  throat, 
and  cocking  her  head  on  one  side,  Miss  Mary 
sang :  — 

"  '  Chainchamchamcharnkickeryboo, 
Fairest  fowl  that  ever  grew, 
Fairest  fowl  that  ever  growed, 
How  you  brighten  my  abode! 
How  you  ornament  the  view, 
Chamchamchamchamkickeryboo ! 

"  '  Chamchamchamchamkickeryboo, 
You  have  wit  and  beauty,  too  ; 
You  can  dance,  and  you  can  sing; 
Y'ou  can  tie  a  pudding-string. 
Is  there  aught  you  cmmot  do, 
Chamchamchainchamkickeryboo  ?  ' 

"  That  was  her  opinion  of  my  merits,"  continued 
the  parrot  modestly.  "  Indeed,  it  was  the  general 
opinion. 

"As  I  was  saying,  I  was  the  Princess's  constant 
companion.  All  day  I  followed  her  about,  sitting 
on  her  shoulder,  or  flying  about  her  head.  All 
night  I  slept  perched  on  her  nose-ring,  which  she 
always  hung  upon  a  hook  when  she  went  to  bed. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        63 

"  Ah  !  that  nose-ring  !  I  wish  I  had  never  seen 
it.  It  was  the  cause  of  all  my  misfortunes,  —  of 
my  lovely  Princess's  death  and  my  own  exile. 
And  yet  it  was  a  lovely  thing  in  itself. 

"  I  observe,  madam,"  continued  the  parrot,  ad- 
dressing the  grandmother,  "  that  you  wear  no 
nose-ring.  Such  a  pity  !  There  is  no  ornament 
so  becoming.  In  Africa  it  is  a  most  important 
article  of  dress,  —  I  may  say  the  most  important. 
Can  I  not  persuade  you  to  try  the  effect  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,"  replied  the  grandmother,  smiling. 
"I  fear  I  am  too  old,  Miss  Mary,  even  if  it  were 
the  custom  in  this  country  to  wear  nose-rings, 
which  I  believe  it  is  not.  But  how  was  the  Prin- 
cess's nose-ring  the  cause  of  your  misfortunes  ? 
Pray  tell  us." 

The  parrot  looked  sadly  at  the  grandmother's 
nose,  and  shook  her  head.  "  Such  a  pity !  "  she  re- 
peated. u  It  would  be  so  becoming  !  You  would 
never  regret  it.  However,"  she  added,  "  you  shall 
hear  the  rest  of  my  sad  story. 

"  The  Princess's  nose-ring  was,  as  you  may  infer 


64         THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

from  the  fact  of  my  being  able  to  swing  in  it,  a 
very  large  one.  She  was  a  connoisseur  in  nose- 
rings, and  had  a  large  collection  of  them,  of  which 
collection  this  was  the  gem.  It  was  of  beaten 
gold,  incrusted  with  precious  stones.  No  other 
nose  in  the  kingdom  could  have  sustained  such 
a  weight;  but  hers  —  ah,  hers  was  a  nose  in  a 
thousand." 

"  Pardon  me !  "  said  the  raccoon  softly,  "  do  I 
understand  that  a  long  nose  is  considered  a  beauty 
in  Africa  ?  " 

"  It  is,  indeed,"  replied  the  parrot.  "  It  is, 
indeed.  You  would  be  much  admired  in  Africa, 
Mr.  Coon." 

The  raccoon  looked  sidewise  at  his  sharp-pointed 
nose,  and  stroked  it  complacently.  "  Ah  !  "  he 
observed,  "I  agree  with  you,  Miss  Mary,  as  to 
Africa  being  the  centre  of  the  earth.  Pray  go 
on." 

"  I  need  hardly  say,"  continued  the  parrot, 
"  that  the  jewelled  nose-ring  was  the  envy  of  all 
the  other  princesses  for  miles  around.  Foremost 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.         65 

among  the  envious  ones  was  the  Princess  Panka,  the 
daughter  of  a  neighboring  king.  She  never  could 
have  worn  the  nose-ring ;  her  nose  was  less  than 
half  an  inch  long,  and  she  was  altogether  hideous ; 
but  she  wanted  it,  and  she  made  up  her  mind  to 
get  it  by  foul  means,  if  fair  ones  would  not  do. 
Accordingly  she  bribed  the  Princess's  bogghun." 

"  The  Princess's  icliat  ?  "  asked  the  bear. 

"  Bogghun,"  repeated  the  parrot  testily.  "  The 
Princess's  bogghun !  Don't  tell  me  you  don't 
know  what  a  bogghun  is !  " 

"  Well,  I  don't,"  replied  sturdy  Bruin ;  "  and 
what 's  more,  I  don't  believe  any  one  else  does  !  " 

The  parrot  looked  around,  but  as  no  one  seemed 
inclined  to  give  any  information  respecting  bog- 
ghuns,  she  continued,  "  The  bogghun  is  a  kind  of 
lizard,  found  only  on  the  island  of  Bogghun-Chunka. 
It  is  about  five  feet  long,  of  a  brilliant  green  color. 
It  invariably  holds  the  end  of  its  tail  in  its  mouth, 
and  moves  by  rolling,  while  in  this  position,  like  a 
child's  hoop.  In  fact,  it  is  used  as  a  hoop  by 
African  children  ;  hence  the  term  '  bogghun.'  It 


66 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


feeds  on  the  chunka,  a  triangular  yellow  beetle 
found  in  the  same  locality ;  hence  the  name  of  the 
island,  Bogghun-Chunka. 


"  The   bogghim 
is    a     treacherous 
animal,  as  I  have 
found  to  my  cost. 
The  one  belonging 
to  my  mistress  was 
a    very    beautiful 
creature,  and  much  beloved  by  her,  yet  he  be- 
trayed her  in  the  basest  manner,  as  you  shall  hear. 
"  The  Princess  Panka,  finding  that  the  bogghim 
was  very  fond  of  molasses  candy,  bribed  him  by 


"She  caressed  the  boprglmn." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        67 

the  offer  of  three  pounds  of  that  condiment  to  de- 
liver the  Princess  into  her  hands.  The  plot  was 
arranged,  and  the  day  set.  On  that  day,  as  usual, 
the  bogghun  rolled  up  to  the  door  after  dinner, 
and  the  Princess,  taking  me  on  her  shoulder, 
went  out  for  her  usual  afternoon  play.  She  ca- 
ressed the  bogghun,  —  ah!  faithless  wretch  !  how 
could  he  bear  the  touch  of  that  gentle  hand?  — 
and  then  struck  him  lightly  with  her  silver  hoop- 
stick  ;  he  rolled  swiftly  away,  and  we  followed, 
Polpetti  bounding  as  lightly  as  a  deer,  while  I 
sat  upon  her  shoulder,  undisturbed  by  the  rapid 
motion. 

"  Away  rolled  the  bogghun,  away  and  away, 
over  the  meadows  and  into  the  forest ;  away  and 
away  bounded  the  Princess  in  pursuit.  The  golden 
nose-ring  flashed  and  glittered  in  the  sunlight; 
the  golden  bangles  on  her  wrists  and  ankles 
tinkled  and  rang  their  tiny  bells  as  she  went. 
Faster  and  faster!  faster  and  faster!  The  mon- 
keys, swinging  by  their  tails  from  the  branches, 
chattered  with  astonishment  at  us ;  the  wild 


68        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

parrots  screamed  at  us ;  all  the  birds  sang  and 
chirped  and  twittered, — 

'Come  !  come  !  tweedle-dee-dum! 
See  !  see  !  tweedle-de-dee  ! 
Hi  !  hi !  kikeriki  ! 
They  have  no  wings,  and  yet  they  fly.' 

And  truly  we  did  seem  to  fly,  so  swift  was  our 
motion.  At  length  I  became  alarmed,  and  begged 
the  Princess  to  turn  back.  She  had  never  before 
gone  so  far  in  the  forest  unattended,  I  told  her ; 
and  there  was  no  knowing  what  dangers  might 
lurk  in  its  leafy  depths.  But,  alas !  she  was  too 
much  excited  to  listen  to  my  remonstrances.  On 
and  on  rolled  the  treacherous  bogghun,  and  on 
and  on  she  bounded  in  pursuit. 

"  Suddenly,  as  we  went  skimming  across  an  open 
glade,  a  sharp  twang  was  heard :  I  saw  a  white 
flash  in  the  air ;  and  the  next  moment  I  was 
hurled  violently  to  the  ground.  Recovering  my- 
self in  an  instant,  I  saw  my  lovely  Princess 
stretched  lifeless  on  the  ground,  with  an  arrow 
quivering  in  her  heart ! 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        69 

"  At  the  same  moment  the  bogghun  stopped  ;  and 
out  from  the  surrounding  coppice  rushed  the  Prin- 
cess Panka  and  her  attendants. 

"  '  Where  is  my  molasses  candy  ?  '  asked  the 
bogghun.  Three  of  the  attendants  presented  him 
with  three  one-pound  packages ;  and  thus  in  a 
moment  I  understood  the  whole  villanous  plot. 
The  Princess  Panka  rushed  to  where  Polpetti  lay, 
and  snatched  the  golden  nose-ring  from  her  lovely 
nose.  Fastening  it  in  her  own  hideous  snub,  she 
sprang  to  her  feet  with  a  shrill  yell  of  triumph. 
'  At  last ! '  she  cried,  —  *  at  last  I  have  it ! ' 

"  '  Hideous  witch  ! '  I  exclaimed.  '  You  have 
no  nose  to  wear  it  in !  You  are  uglier  than  the 
blue-faced  monkey,  or  the  toad  with  three  tails. 
The  very  sight  of  you  makes  the  leaves  drop  off 
the  trees  with  horror.  You  odious,  squint-eyed  — ' 

" ;  Catch  that  parrot ! '  shrieked  the  enraged 
Panka.  '  Wring  that  parrot's  neck !  Pull  his 
feathers  out !  Let  me  get  at  him  ! ' 

"  I  rose  in  the  air,  and  flying  round  her  head,  con- 
tinued—  '  Snub-nosed,  monkey-faced,  bald-headed 


70 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


[this  adjective  was  not  exactly  correct,  but  I  was 
too  angry  to  choose  my  words],  hump-backed 
Ant-eater  /// '  and  with  the  last  word,  the  most 
opprobrious  epithet  that  can  be  applied  to  an 


"  'Hideous  witch  !'  I  exclaimed." 

African,  I  gave  the  creature  a  peck  in  the  face 
that  sent  her  tumbling  over  backwards,  and  flew 
off  among  the  trees.  A  storm  of  arrows  followed 
me,  but  I  escaped  unhurt,  and  flying  rapidly,  was 
soon  far  away  from  the  spot." 

Here  the  parrot  paused  to  take  breath,  having 
become  quite  excited  in  telling  her  story. 


T11E    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  71 

"  Ahem  !  "  said  the  woodchuck.  "  May  I  be  per- 
mitted to  ask  a  question,  Miss  Mary  ?  " 

"  Certainly, "  replied  the  parrot  graciously. 
"  What  is  it,  Woodchuck  ?  " 

"  Did  I  understand,"  said  the  woodchuck  cau- 
tiously, "  that  the  bogghun  never  takes  his  tail  out 
of  his  mouth  ?  " 

"  Never  !  "  replied  the  parrot.  "  Never,  upon 
any  occasion !  " 

"  Then  how,"  asked  Chucky,  "  did  he  eat  the 
molasses  candy  ?  " 

"  Woodchuck,"  said  the  parrot,  with  great  se- 
verity, "  the  question  does  credit  neither  to  your 
head  nor  to  your  heart.  I  decline  to  answer 
it!" 

The  woodchuck  looked  sulky,  and  scratched  his 
nose  expressively.  The  raccoon,  who  had  been 
on  the  point  of  asking  the  same  question  himself, 
frowned  at  him,  and  said  he  was  ashamed  of  him. 
"  Pray  continue  your  story,  Miss  Mary  !  "  said  he. 
"  I  assure  you  we  are  all,  with  perhaps  one  excep- 
tion [the  woodchuck  sniffed  audibly],  quite  faint 


72        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

with  excitement  and  suspense.     What  became  of 
you  after  the  Princess's  death  ?  " 

"  I  remained  in  the  forest,"  said  the  parrot.  "  I 
could  not  go  back  to  the  village  without  the  Prin- 
cess ;  the  King  would  have  put  me  to  death  if  I 
had  made  my  appearance. 

"  For  some  time  I  lived  alone,  associating  as  little 
as  possible  with  the  uneducated  birds  of  the  forest. 
At  length,  finding  my  life  very  solitary,  I  accepted 
the  claw  and  heart  of  a  rich  and  respectable  green 
parrot,  who  offered  me  a  good  home  and  the  de- 
votion of  a  life-time.  With  him  I  passed  several 
quiet  and  happy  years ;  but  finally  we  were  both 
surprised  and  captured  by  a  band  of  American 
sailors,  who  had  penetrated  to  this  distance  in  the 
forest  in  search  of  ivory.  They  treated  us  kindly, 
and  carried  us  miles  and  miles  till  we  came  to  a 
river,  where  other  sailors  were  waiting  with  a 
boat.  In  this  we  embarked,  and  after  rowing  for 
several  days,  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  near 
which  their  ship  was  waiting  for  them. 

"In    the    confusion  of  boarding,  my    husband 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        73 

managed  to  make  his  escape.  He  flew  back  to 
the  shore,  calling  to  me  to  follow  him ;  but,  alas ! 
I  was  too  closely  guarded,  and  I  never  saw  him 
again.  He  was  a  very  worthy  parrot,  and  a  kind 
husband,  though  sometimes  greedy  in  the  matter 
of  snails." 

The  parrot  sighed,  meditated  fora  few  moments, 
with  her  head  on  one  side,  on  the  virtues  of  her 
departed  lord,  and  then  continued, — 

"  My  life  on  board  ship  was  a  very  pleasant  one. 
Petted  and  caressed  by  the  sailors,  I  soon  lost  my 
shyness,  and  became  once  more  accustomed  to  the 
society  of  men.  I  learned  English  quickly,  and 
could  soon  whistle  (  Yankee  Doodle  '  and  t  Three 
Cheers  for  the  Red,  White,  and  Blue.'  One 
phrase  I  objected  very  much  to  repeating,  '  Polly 
wants  a  cracker.'  I  disliked  crackers  extreme!}7, 
and  could  not  endure  the  name  of  Polly ;  but  for 
some  time  I  could  not  get  anything  to  eat  without 
making  this  stupid  remark. 

"  One  day  I  received  a  shock  which  nearly 
caused  me  to  faint.  I  was  sitting  on  the  taffrail, 


74        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

watching  two  of  my  particular  friends,  Joe  Brown 
and  Simeon  Plunkett,  who  were  splicing  ropes. 
They  always  spliced  better,  I  noticed,  when  my 
eye  was  on  them.  They  were  talking  about  some 
adventure  in  the  forest,  and  suddenly  I  caught 
the  words,  '  golden  nose-r'ng.'  I  had  been  half 
dozing ;  but  this  roused  me  at  once,  and  I  began 
to  listen  with  all  my  ears." 

"  How  many  ears  has  she  ?  "  growled  the  wood- 
chuck,  in  a  low  tone. 

"  Twenty-five,"  replied  the  raccoon,  in  the  same 
tone.  "  They  are  invisible  to  idiots,  which  is 
probably  the  reason  why  you  have  never  noticed 
them." 

"  '  How  did  you  get  that  nose-ring?'  asked  Joe 
Brown.  '  You  have  begun  to  tell  me  once  or 
twice,  and  something  has  always  stopped  you. 
Were  there  many  of  them  lying  around  ?  I 
should  n't  mind  having  that  myself. ' 

"  Judge  of  my  feelings  when  Simeon  Plunkett, 
before  replying,  pulled  out  from  the  breast  of  his 
flannel  shirt  a  huge  golden  ring,  set  with  jewels, 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  VO 

—  the  identical  golden  nose-ring  which  had  caused 
the  death  of  my  lovely  Princess.  I  shuddered, 
and  came  very  near  falling  from  the  taffrail ;  but, 
composing  myself,  I  listened  eagerly,  and  heard 
Simeon  tell  the  other  how,  as  he  and  his  mates 
were  returning  to  their  boat  (he  had  been  with  a 
second  exploring  party  sent  out  from  the  ship), 
they  found  a  well,  and  stopped  to  fish  in  it." 

"  To  fish  in  a  well  ?  "  interrupted  Bruin.  "  What 
did  they  do  that  for  ?  " 

"  To  see  what  they  could  catch,"  replied  the  par- 
rot. "  What  do  people  fish  for  in  this  country  ? 

"  The  first  thing  they  caught  was  the  body  of 
a  young  woman,  with  this  golden  ring  in  her  nose. 
Her  feet  were  up,  and  her  head  was  down ;  and  al- 
together, Simeon  said,  it  was  very  evident  that, 
in  stooping  over  either  to  drink  or  to  admire  her 
beauty  in  the  well,  the  weight  of  the  ring  had 
overbalanced  her,  and  caused  her  to  fall  in. 

"  When  I  heard  this  news  I  flapped  my  wings 
and  crowed,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the 
two  sailors.  My  enemy  was  dead,  and  Polpetti 


76  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

avenged.  My  joy  was  great,  and  I  wanted  to 
thank  Simeon  Plunkett  for  being  the  bearer  of 
such  good  news  ;  so  I  perched  on  his  knee,  and 
sang  him  the  sweetest  song  I  knew,  —  a  song 
which  had  often  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  my 
lost  husband.  But  he  only  said,  *  Princess  [they 
all  called  me  Princess,  I  should  observe],  if  any 
other  bird  made  such  a  row  as  that,  I  'd  wring  its 
neck.'  The  Americans,  I  find,  have  absolutely  no 
ear  for  music. 

"  We  reached  America  after  a  pleasant  and 
prosperous  voyage. 

"  After  that  my  adventures  may  be  told  in  a 
few  words.  Joe  Brown  presented  me,  as  a  great 
treasure,  to  the  captain's  wife,  Mrs.  Jeremy  Jibb  ; 
but  I  found  her  a  most  unpleasant  person  to  live 
with.  She  kept  me  in  a  cage,  —  a  tin  cage,  —  me, 
the  favorite  companion  of  the  Princess  Royal  of 
Central  Africa  !  She  fed  me  on  crackers,  called 
me  Polly  all  the  time,  and  treated  me  in  a  most 
degrading  manner  generally.  If  I  had  been  a 
canary-bird,  her  manner  could  not  have  been  more 


THE  JOYOUS  STOKY  OF  TOTO. 


77 


"  But  he  only  said,  '  Princess,  if  any  other  bird  made  such  a  row  as 
that,  I  'd  wring  its  neck.' " 


78  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

insufferably  patronizing.  After  enduring  this  life 
for  several  weeks,  I  managed  to  make  my  escape 
one  day  while  Mrs.  Jibb  was  cleaning  my  cage. 
After  a  long  flight,  I  reached  this  forest,  in  whose 
pleasant  retirement  I  have  remained  ever  since. 
Here  I  find  society  and  snails,  both  of  excellent 
quality  ;  and,  with  these,  what  more  does  one  re- 
quire ?  And  here  I  hope  to  pass  the  remainder 
of  my  days." 

The  parrot's  story,  with  the  various  pauses  and 
interruptions,  had  occupied  a  good  deal  of  time  ; 
and  when  it  was  finished  the  party  broke  up, 
promising  to  reassemble  on  the  following  day. 
Before  they  separated,  Toto  asked,  as  usual,  who 
was  to  tell  the  next  story. 

"  Tell  it  yourself,  Toto,"  said  the  wood-pigeon ; 
and  all  the  rest  chimed  in,  "Yes,  Toto  shall  tell 
the  next  himself."  So  it  was  settled ;  and  they 
all  shook  paws,  and  departed. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        79 


CHAPTER   V. 

'"T^HE  next  day  it  rained,  so  the  party  of  friends 
did  not  assemble  as  usual.  The  bear  stayed 
in  his  cave,  sucking  his  paw,  and  listening  to  the 
chatter  of  the  squirrel,  who  came  to  spend  the 
day  with  him.  The  raccoon,  after  one  look  at 
the  weather,  curled  himself  up  in  his  tree-house 
and  went  to  sleep.  As  for  the  woodchuck,  he 
never  woke  up  at  all,  for  nobody  came  to  wake 
him,  and  he  could  not  do  it  for  himself. 

Poor  Toto  was  very  disconsolate.  He  never 
stayed  indoors  for  an  ordinary  rain,  but  this  was  a 
perfect  deluge ;  so  he  stood  by  the  window  and 
said,  "  Oh,  dear !  oh,  dear  ! !  oh,  DEAR  ! ! !  "  as  if  he 
did  not  know  how  to  say  anything  else. 

His  good  grandmother  bore  this  quietly  for 
some  time ;  but  at  length  she  said,  "  Toto,  do  you 
know  what  happened  to  the  boy  who  said  '  Oh, 
dear!'  too  many  times?" 


80         THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"No!"  said  Toto,  brightening  up  at  the  pros- 
pect of  a  story.  "  What  did  happen  to  him?  Tell 
me,  Granny,  please  !  " 

"  Come  and  hold  this  skein  of  yarn  for  me, 
then,"  replied  the  grandmother,  "  and  I  will  tell 
you  as  I  wind  it. 

"  Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  boy —  " 

"  What  was  his  name  ?"  interrupted  Toto. 

"Chimborazo,"  replied  the  grandmother.  "I 
should  have  told  you  his  real  name  in  a  moment, 
if  you  had  not  interrupted  me,  but  now  I  shall 
call  him  Chimborazo,  and  that  will  be  something 
for  you  to  remember." 

Toto  blushed  and  hung  his  head. 

"  This  boy,"  continued  the  grandmother,  "  in- 
variably put  the  wrong  foot  out  of  bed  first  when 
he  got  up  in  the  morning,  and  consequently  he 
was  always  unhappy." 

"  May  I  speak  ?  "  murmured  Toto  softly. 

"  Yes,  you  may  speak,"  said  the  old  lady. 
"What  is  it?" 

"  Please,  grandmother,"  said  Toto,  "which  is  the 
wrong  foot  ?  " 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        81 

"  Don't  you  know  which  your  right  foot  is  ?  " 
asked  the  grandmother. 

"  Why,  yes,  of  course,"  replied  Toto. 

'•  And  do  you  know  the  difference  between  right 
and  wrong  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,  of  course,"  said  Toto. 

"  Then,"  said  the  grandmother,  "  you  know 
which  the  wrong  foot  is. 

"  As  I  was  saying,  Chimborazo  was  a  very 
unhappy  boy.  He  pouted,  and  he  sulked,  and 
he  said,  '  Oh,  dear !  oh,  dear !  oh,  dear !  oh, 
dear ! '  He  said  it  till  everybody  was  tired  of 
hearing  it. 

"  *  Chimborazo,'  his  mother  would  say,  '  please 
don't  say,  "Oh,  dear!"  any  more.  It  is  very 
annoying.  Say  something  else.' 

"  '  Oh,  dear ! '  the  boy  would  answer,  '  I  can't ! 
I  don't  know  anything  else  to  say.  Oh,  dear !  oh, 
dear ! !  oh,  DEAR  ! ! ! ' 

"  So  one  day  his  mother  could  not  bear  it  any 
longer,  and  she  sent  for  his  fairy  godmother,  and 
told  her  all  about  it. 

6 


82  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

"  '  Humph  ! '  said  the  fairy  godmother.  '  I  will 
see  to  it.  Send  the  boy  to  me ! ' 

"  So  Chimborazo  was  sent  for,  and  came,  hang- 
ing: his  head  as  usual.  When  he  saw  his  fairy 

o  •/ 

godmother,  he  said,  l  Oh,  dear! '  for  he  was  rather 
afraid  of  her. 

"  '  "  Oh,  dear  !  "  it  is  ! '  said  the  godmother 
sharply ;  and  she  put  on  her  spectacles  and  looked 
at  him.  '  Do  you  know  what  a  bell-punch  is  ?  ' 

" '  Oh,  dear  ! '  said  Chimborazo.  '  No,  ma'am,  I 
don't!' 

" '  Well,'  said  the  godmother,  1 1  am  going  to 
give  you  one.' 

"  '  Oh,  dear  ! '  said  Chimborazo,  '  I  don't  want 
one.' 

" '  Probably  not,'  replied  she,  *  but  that  does  n't 
make  much  difference.  You  have  it  now,  in  your 
jacket  pocket.' 

"  Chimborazo  felt  in  his  pocket,  and  took  out  a 
queer-looking  instrument  of  shining  metal.  l  Oh, 
dear ! '  he  said. 

"  *  "  Oh,  dear !  "  it  is ! '  said  the  fairy  godmother. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        83 

'Now,'  she  continued,  (  listen  to  me,  Chirnborazo ! 
I  am  going  to  put  you  on  an  allowance  of "  Oh, 
dears."  This  is  a  self-acting  bell-punch,  and  it 
will  ring  whenever  you  say  "  Oh,  dear !  "  How 
many  times  do  you  generally  say  it  in  the  course 
of  the  day  ?  ' 

"  *  Oh,  dear ! '  said  Chimborazo,  '  I  don't  know. 
Oh,  dear! ' 

" '  Ting  /  ting  / '  the  bell-punch  rang  twice  sharply  ; 
ano^  looking  at  it  in  dismay,  he  saw  two  little 
round  holes  punched  in  a  long  slip  of  pasteboard 
which  was  fastened  to  the  instrument. 

"  '  Exactly  ! '  said  the  fairy.  '  That  is  the  way 
it  works,  and  a  very  pretty  way,  too.  Now,  my 
boy,  I  am  going  to  make  you  a  very  liberal  allow- 
ance. You  may  say  "  Oh,  dear !  "  forty-five  times 
a  day.  There  's  liberality  for  you  ! ' 

"  '  Oh,  dear ! '  cried  Chimborazo,  'I  — ' 

" i  Ting  /  '  said  the  bell-punch. 

"  '  You  see  ! '  observed  the  fairy.  '  Nothing 
could  be  prettier.  You  have  now  had  three  of 
this  day's  allowance.  It  is  still  some  hours  before 


84        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

noon,  so  I  advise  you  to  be  careful.  If  you  ex- 
ceed the  allowance  — '  Here  she  paused,  and 
glowered  through  her  spectacles  in  a  very  dreadful 
manner. 

"  '  Oh,  dear  ! '  cried  Chimborazo.  f  What  will 
happen  then  ? ' 

"  i  You  will  see  ! '  said  the  fairy  godmother,  with 
a  nod.  '  Something  will  happen,  you  may  be  very 
sure  of  that.  Good-by.  Remember,  only  forty- 
five  ! '  And  away  she  flew  out  of  the  window. 

"  *  Oh,  dear!'  cried  Chimborazo,  bursting  into 
tears.  '  I  don't  want  it !  I  won't  have  it !  Oh, 
dear  !  oh,  dear  !  oh,  dear  !  oh,  dear  !  oh,  DEAR  ! ! ! ' 

"  '  Ting  !  ting  !  ting- ting-tin g-ting  ! '  said  the  bell- 
punch  ;  and  now  there  were  ten  round  holes  in 
the  strip  of  pasteboard.  Chimborazo  was  now 
really  frightened.  He  was  silent  for  some  time  ; 
and  when  his  mother  called  him  to  his  lessons  he 
tried  very  hard  not  to  say  the  dangerous  words. 
But  the  habit  was  so  strong  that  he  said  them  un- 
consciously. By  dinner-time  there  were  twenty- 
five  holes  in  the  cardboard  strip  ;  by  tea-time  there 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        85 


"  Good-by.     Remember,  only  forty-five  !" 


86  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

were  forty  !  Poor  Chimborazo  !  he  was  afraid  to 
open  his  lips,  for  whenever  he  did  the  words  would 
slip  out  in  spite  of  him. 

"  '  Well,  Chimbo,'  said  his  father  after  tea,  '  I 
hear  you  have  had  a  visit  from  your  fairy  god- 
mother. What  did  she  say  to  you,  eh  ?  ' 

"  '  Oh,  dear  ! '  said  Chimborazo,  '  she  said  —  oh, 
dear  !  I  've  said  it  again  ! ' 

"  '  She  said,  "  Oh,  dear  !  I  've  said  it  again  !  " 
repeated   his   father.     '  What    do    you   mean    by 
that  ? ' 

"  '  Oh,  dear  !  I  did  n't  mean  that,'  cried  Chimbo- 
razo hastily  ;  and  again  the  inexorable  bell  rang, 
and  he  knew  that  another  hole  was  punched  in 
the  fatal  cardboard.  He  pressed  his  lips  firmly 
together,  and  did  not  open  them  again  except  to 
say  ;  Good-night,'  until  he  was  safe  in  his  own 
room.  Then  he  hastily  drew  the  hated  bell-punch 
from  his  pocket,  and  counted  the  holes  in  the  strip 
of  cardboard  ;  there  were  forty-three  !  '  Oh, 
dear/'  cried  the  boy,  forgetting  himself  again 
in  his  alarm,  '  only  two  more  !  Oh;  dear !  oh, 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        87 

DEAR  !  I  've  done  it  again !  oh  — '  '  Ting  !  TING  ! ' 
went  the  bell-punch  ;  and  the  cardboard  was 
punched  to  the  end.  ;  Oh,  dear ! '  cried  Chim- 
borazo, now  beside  himself  with  terror.  i  Oh,  dear  ! 
oh,  dear !  oh,  dear !  oh,  dear  !  !  what  will  become 
of  me  ?' 

"  A  strange  whirring  noise  was  heard,  then  a  loud 
clang ;  and  the  next  moment  the  bell-punch,  as  if 
it  were  alive,  flew  out  of  his  hand,  out  of  the 
window,  and  was  gone ! 

"  Chimborazo  stood  breathless  with  terror  for  a 
few  minutes,  momentarily  expecting  that  the  roof 
would  fall  in  on  his  head,  or  the  floor  blow  up 
under  his  feet,  or  some  appalling  catastrophe  of 
some  kind  follow;  but  nothing  followed.  Every- 
thing was  quiet,  and  there  seemed  to  be  noth- 
ing to  do  but  go  to  bed  ;  so  to  bed  he  went,  and 
slept,  only  to  dream  that  he  was  shot  through 
the  head  with  a  bell-punch,  and  died  saying,  '  Oh, 
dear ! ' 

"  The  next  morning,  when  Chimborazo  came 
downstairs,  his  father  said,  '  My  boy,  I  am  going 


88        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

to  drive  over  to  your  grandfather's  farm  this  morn- 
ing ;  would  you  like  to  go  with  me  ? ' 

"A  drive  to  the  farm  was  one  of  the  greatest 
pleasures  Chirnborazo  had, so  he  answered  promptly, 
'Oh,  dear!' 

"  '  Oh,  very  well ! '  said  his  father,  looking  much 
surprised.  '  You  need  not  go,  my  son,  if  you  do 
not  want  to.  I  will  take  Robert  instead.' 

"  Poor  Chimborazo  !  He  had  opened  his  lips  to 
say,  '  Thank  you,  papa.  I  should  like  to  go  very 
much ! '  and,  instead  of  these  words,  out  had 
popped,  in  his  most  doleful  tone,  the  now  hated 
'  Oh,  dear ! '  He  sat  amazed  ;  but  was  roused  by 
his  mother's  calling  him  to  breakfast. 

"  i  Come,  Chimbo,'  she  said.  l  Here  are  sausages 
and  scrambled  eggs ;  and  you  are  very  fond  of 
both  of  them.  Which  will  you  have  ? ' 

"  Chimborazo  hastened  to  say, l  Sausages,  please, 
mamma, '  —  that  is,  he  hastened  to  iry  to  say  it ; 
but  all  his  mother  heard  was,  *  Oh,  dear  I ' 

"  His  father  looked  much  displeased.  '  Give  the 
boy  some  bread  and  water,  wife,'  he  said  sternly. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.         89 

'  If  he  cannot  answer  properly,  he  must  be  taught. 
I  have  had  enough  of  this  "  oh,  dear  !  "  business.' 

"  Poor  Chimborazo !  He  saw  plainly  enough 
now  what  his  punishment  was  to  be ;  and  the 
thought  of  it  made  him  tremble.  He  tried  to  ask 
for  some  more  bread,  but  only  brought  out  his 
'  Oh,  dear ! '  in  such  a  lamentable  tone  that  his 
father  ordered  him  to  leave  the  room.  He  went 
out  into  the  garden,  and  there  he  met  John  the 
gardener,  carrying  a  basket  of  rosy  apples.  Oh  ! 
how  good  they  looked  ! 

" '  I  am  bringing  some  of  the  finest  apples  up 
to  the  house,  little  master,'  said  John.  i  Will  you 
have  one  to  put  in  your  pocket  ? ' 

"  '  Oh,  dear ! '  was  all  the  poor  boy  could  say, 
though  he  wanted  an  apple,  oh,  so  much !  And 
when  John  heard  that  he  put  the  apple  back  in 
his  basket,  muttering  something  about  ungrateful 
monkeys. 

"  Poor  Chimborazo !  I  will  not  give  the  whole 
history  of  that  miserable  day,  —  a  miserable  day  it 
was  from  beginning  to  end.  He  fared  no  better 


90        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO 

at  dinner  than  at  breakfast ;  for  at  the  second 
'  Oh,  dear  ! '  his  father  sent  him  up  to  his  room, 
i  to  stay  there  until  he  knew  how  to  take  what 
was  given  him,  and  be  thankful  for  it.'  He  knew 
wrell  enough  by  this  time ;  but  he  could  not  tell  his 
father  so.  He  went  to  his  room,  and  sat  look- 
ing out  of  the  window,  a  hungry  and  miserable 
boy. 

"  In  the  afternoon  his  cousin  Will  came  up  to 
see  him.  '  Why,  Chimbo  ! '  he  cried.  '  Why  do 
you  sit  moping  here  in  the  house,  when  all  the 
boys  are  out  ?  Come  and  play  marbles  with  me  on 
the  piazza.  Ned  and  Harry  are  out  there  waiting 
for  you.  Come  on  ! ' 

"  '  Oh,  dear ! '  said  Chimborazo. 

"  <  What  's  the  matter  ?  '  asked  Will.  <  Have  n't 
you  any  marbles?  Never  mind.  I'll  give  you 
half  of  mine,  if  you  like.  Come ! 

"  '  Oh,  DEAR  ! '  said  Chimborazo. 

"  '  Well,'  said  Will, '  if  that 's  all  you  have  to  say 
when  I  offer  you  marbles,  I  '11  keep  them  myself. 
I  suppose  you  expected  me  to  give  you  all  of 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


91 


them,  did  vou  ?     I  never  saw  such  a  fellow  ! '  and 

«/ 

off  he  went  in  a  huff. 


"  '  Well,  Chimborazo,'  said  the  fairy  godmother, 
;  what  do  you  think  of  "  Oh,  dear !  "  now  ? ' 


"Touching  his  lips  with  her  wand." 

"  Chimborazo  looked  at  her  beseechingly,  but 
said  nothing. 

"  '  Finding  that  forty-five  times  was  not  enough 
for  you  yesterday,  I  thought  I  would  let  you  have 


92        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

all  you  wanted  to-day,  you  see,'  said  the  fairy 
wickedly. 

"  The  boy  still  looked  imploringly  at  her,  but 
did  not  open  his  lips. 

"  '  Well,  well,'  she  said  at  last,  touching  his  lips 
with  her  wand, '  I  think  that  is  enough  in  the  way 
of  punishment,  though  I  am  sorry  you  broke  the 
bell-punch.  Good-by  !  I  don't  believe  you  will 
say  "  Oh,  dear ! "  any  more.' 

"  And  he  did  n't." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.         93 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"  I  "HE    rain    continued    for    several    days ;   and 
though   Toto,  mindful  of  the   sad    storv  of, 

«/ 

Chimborazo,  tried  hard  not  to  say  "  Oh,  dear !  " 
still  he  found  the  time  hang  very  heavy  on  his 
hands.  On  the  fourth  day,  however,  the  clouds 
broke  away,  and  the  sun  came  out  bright  and 
beautiful.  Toto  snatched  up  his  cap,  kissed  his 
grandmother,  and  flew  off  to  the  forest.  Oh,  how 
glad  he  was  to  be  out  of  doors  again,  and  how 
glad  everything  seemed  to  be  to  see  him !  All 
the  trees  shook  down  pearls  and  diamonds  on 
him  (very  wet  ones  they  were,  but  he  did  not 
mind  that),  the  birds  sang  to  him,  the  flowers 
nodded  to  him.  the  sunbeams  twinkled  at  him  : 
everything  seemed  to  say,  "  How  are  you,  Toto  ? 
Has  n't  it  been  a  lovely  rain,  and  are  n't  you  glad 
it  is  over  ?  " 


94        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

He  went  straight  to  the  forest  pool,  hoping  to 
find  some  of  his  companions  there.  Sure  enough, 
there  was  the  raccoon,  sitting  by  the  edge  of  the 
pool,  making  his  toilet,  and  stopping  every  now 
and  then  to  gaze  admiringly  at  himself  in  the 
clear  mirror. 

"  Good-morning-,  Coon  !  "  said  Toto ;  "  admiring 

o  /  .  ^     y;^  •*•  /  o 

your  beauty  as  usual,  eh  ?  " 

"Well,  Toto,"  replied  the  raccoon  complacently, 
"  my  view  of  the  matter  is  this :  what  is  the  use 
of  having  beauty  if  you  don't  admire  it  ?  That  is 
what  it  'a  for,  I  suppose." 

"I  suppose  so,"  assented  Toto. 

"And  you  can't  expect  other  people  to  admire 
you  if  you  don't  admire  yourself!  "  added  the  rac- 
coon impressively.  "  Remember  that !  How  's 
your  grandmother  ?  " 

"  She 's  very  well,"  replied  Toto,  "  and  she 
hopes  to  see  you  all  this  afternoon.  She  has 
made  a  new  kind  of  gingerbread,  and  she  wants 
you  to  try  it.  I  have  tried  it,  and  it  is  very  good 
indeed." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        95 

"  Your  grandmother,"  said  the  raccoon,  "  is  in 
-  respects  the  most  delightful  person  I  have 
ever  met.  I,  for  one,  will  come  with  pleasure.  I 
can't  tell  about  the  rest;  haven't  seen  them  for 
a  day  or  two.  Suppose  we  go  and  hunt  them 
up." 

"  With  all  my  heart !  "  said  Toto. 

They  had  not  gone  far  before  they  met  the 
wood-pigeon  flying  along  with  a  bunch  of  berries 
in  her  bill. 

"Where  are  you  going,  Pigeon  Pretty?"  in- 
quired Toto  ;  "  and  who  is  to  have  those  nice  ber- 
ries ?  I  am  sure  they  are  not  for  yourself ;  I 
believe  you  never  get  anything  for  yourself,  you 
are  so  busy  helping  others." 

"These  berries  are  for  poor  Chucky,"  replied 
the  wood-pigeon.  "  Ah,  Coon,"  she  added  re- 
proachfully, "  how  could  you  hurt  the  poor  fellow 
so  ?  He  is  really  ill  this  morning  in  consequence." 

"  What  have  you  been  doing  to  Chucky,  you 
naughty  Coon? "asked  Toto.  "Biting  his  nose 
off?" 


96         THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  Oh,  no !  "  said  the  raccoon,  looking  rather 
guilty,  in  spite  of  his  assurance.  "  Dear  me,  no ! 
I  did  n't  bite  it  of.  Certainly  not !  I  —  I  just  bit 
it  a  little,  don't  you  know  !  it  was  raining,  and  I 
had  n't  anything  else  to  do ;  and  he  was  so  sound 
asleep,  it  was  a  great  temptation.  But  I  won't  do 
it  again,  Pigeon  Pretty,"  he  added  cheerfully,  "  I 
won't  really.  Take  him  the  berries,  with  my  love, 
and  say  I  hope  they  will  do  him  good !  "  and 
with  a  crafty  wink,  Master  Coon  trotted  on  with 
Toto,  while  Pigeon  Pretty  flew  off  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

They  soon  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  bear's 
cave,  and  looking  in,  saw  the  worthy  Bruin 
quietly  playing  backgammon  with  his  devoted 
friend  Cracker.  The  latter  was  chattering  as 
usual.  "  And  so  I  said  to  him,"  he  was  saying 
as  Toto  and  Coon  approached,  "  (  /  think  it  is  a 
mean  trick,  and  I  '11  have  nothing  to  do  with  it. 
And  what  is  more,  I  '11  put  a  stop  to  it  if  I  can  ! ' 
So  he  said  he  'd  like  to  see  me  do  it,  and  flounced 
off  into  the  water." 


THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


97 


"  Humph !  "  said  Bruin,  "  I  never  did  think 
much  of  that  musk  rat." 

"  What's  all  this?"  asked  the  raccoon,  walking 
in.  "  Anything  the  matter,  Cracker  ?  " 


"Bruin  playing  backgammon  with  his  friend  Cracker." 

"  Good-morning,  Coon  !  "  said  Bruin.  "  Morn- 
ing, Toto  !  Sit  down,  both  of  you.  Cracker  was 
just  telling  me  —  " 

"  It  is  that  muskrat  that  lives  in  the  pool,  you 
know,  Coon ! "  broke  in  the  squirrel  excitedly. 

7 


98        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  He  wants  to  marry  the  Widow  Bullfrog's 
daughter,  and  she  won't  have  him,  because  she  's 
engaged  to  young  Mud  Turtle.  So  now  the 
muskrat  has  contrived  a  plan  for  carrying  her  off 
to-night  whether  she  will  or  no ;  and  if  you  will 
believe  it,  he  came  to  me  and  asked  me  to  help 
him,  —  me,  the  head  squirrel  of  the  whole  forest!" 
and  little  Cracker  whisked  his  tail  about  fiercely, 
and  looked  as  if  he  could  devour  a  whole  army  of 
muskrats. 

"  Don't  frighten  us,  Cracker !  "  said  the  rac- 
coon, with  a  look  of  mock  terror.  "  I  shall  faint 
if  you  look  so  ferocious.  I  shall,  indeed !  Hold 
me,  Toto!" 

"  Now,  Coon,  you  know  I  won't  have  Cracker 
teased  !  "  growled  the  bear.  "  He  's  a  good  little 
fellow,  and  if  he  wants  to  help  the  Widow  Bull- 
frog out  of  this  scrape,  he  shall.  I  believe  she 
is  a  very  respectable  person.  Now,  I  don't  know 
whether  I  can  do  anything  about  it  myself.  I  'm 
rather  large,  you  see,  and  it  won't  do  for  me  to 
go  paddling  about  in  the  pool  and  getting  the 
water  all  muddy." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        99 

"  Certainly  not !  "  said  the  squirrel,  "  you  dear 
old  monster.  I  should  as  soon  think  of  asking 
the  mountain  to  come  and  hunt  mosquitoes.  But 
Coon,  now  - 

"  Oh,  I  'm  ready ! "  exclaimed  the  raccoon. 
"  Delighted,  I  'm  sure,  to  do  anything  I  can. 
What  shall  I  do  to  the  muskrat  ?  Eat  him  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  that  would  be  the  easiest  thing  to 
do,"  said  the  bear.  "  What  do  you  say, 
Cracker?" 

"  He  is  very  hard  to  catch,"  replied  the  squirrel. 
"  In  fact,  you  cannot  catch  a  muskrat  unless  you 
put  tar  on  his  nose." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  the  raccoon.  "  I  had 
forgotten  that,  and  I  have  n't  any  tar  just 
now.  Would  pitch  or  turpentine  do  as  well, 
do  you  think  ?  They  all  begin  with  '  A',  you 
know." 

"  I  'm  afraid  not ! "  said  the  squirrel.  "  '  Tar 
to  catch  a  Tartar,'  as  the  old  saying  goes ;  and 
the  muskrat  is  certainly  a  Tartar." 

"  Look  here ! "   said  Toto,  "  I  think  we  have 


100       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

some  tar  at  home,  in  the  shed.  I  am  quite  sure 
there  is  some." 

"  Really  ? "  said  the  squirrel,  brightening  up. 
"  Good  boy,  Toto  !  Tell  me  where  I  can  find  it, 
and  I  '11  go  and  get  it." 

"  No  !  "  said  Toto.  "  It 's  in  a  bucket,  and  you 
could  n't  carry  it,  Cracker !  I  '11  go  and  fetch  it, 
while  you  and  Coon  are  arranging  your  plan  of 
action." 

So  away  ran  Toto,  and  the  squirrel  and  the 
raccoon  sat  down  to  consult. 

"  The  first  thing  to  do,"  said  Coon,  "  is  to  get 
the  muskrat  out  of  his  hole.  Now,  my  advice  is 
this  :  do  you  go  to  Mrs.  Bullfrog,  and  borrow  an 
old  overcoat  of  her  husband's." 

"  Husband  's  dead,"  said  the  bear. 

"  That 's  no  reason  why  his  overcoat  should  be 
dead,  stupid  !  "  replied  the  raccoon.  "  It  is  n't 
likely  that  he  was  buried  in  his  overcoat,  and  it 
is  n't  likely  that  she  has  cut  it  up  for  a  riding- 
habit.  Borrow  the  overcoat,"  he  continued,  turn- 
ing to  the  squirrel  again,  "  and  put  it  on.  Old 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       101 

Bullfrog  was  a  very  big  fellow,  and  I  think  you 
can  get  it  on.  Then  you  can  sit  on  a  stone  and 
whistle  like  a  frog." 

"  I  can't  sit  down  in  a  frog's  overcoat !  "  ob- 
jected the  squirrel.  "  I  know  I  can't.  It 's  not 
the  right  shape,  and  I  don't  sit  down  in  that  way. 
And  I  can't  whistle  like  a  frog  either." 

"  Dear  me  !  "  said  the  raccoon  peevishly.  "  What 
can  you  do  ?  I  am  sure  /  could  sit  down  in  any 
coat  I  could  wear  at  all.  Well,  then,"  he  added 
after  a  pause,  u  you  can  stand  on  a  stone,  and  look 
like  a  frog.  I  suppose  you  can  do  that?  " 

"  I  suppose  so."  said  Cracker,  dubiously. 

"  And  Toto,"  continued  the  raccoon,  "  can  hide 
himself  in  the  reeds  on  one  side  of  you,  and  I  on 
the  other.  Toto  whistles  beautifully,  and  he  can 
imitate  Miss  Bullfrog's  voice  to  perfection.  The 
muskrat  will  be  sure  to  come  up  when  he  hears 
it,  and  the  moment  he  pops  his  head  out  of  the 
water,  you  can  drop  some  tar  on  his  nose,  and 
then  —  " 

"  Then  what  ?  "  asked  the  squirrel  anxiously. 


102       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  I  will  attend  to  the  rest  of  it,"  said  Coon,  with 
a  wink.  "  See  that  I  have  cards  to  the  Mud  Tur- 
tle's wedding,  will  you  ?  Here  comes  To  to,"  he 
added,  "  with  tar  enough  to  catch  fifty  muskrats. 
Off  with  you,  Cracker,  and  ask  the  Widow  Frog 
for  the  overcoat." 

The  squirrel  disappeared  among  the  bushes,  and 
at  the  same  time  Toto  came  running  up  with  the 
tar-bucket. 

"Well/'  he  said  breathlessly,  "  is  it  all  arranged  ? 
Oh  !  I  ran  all  the  way,  and  I  am  so  tired ! "  and 
he  dropped  down  on  a  mossy  seat,  and  fanned 
himself  with  his  cap. 

Bruin  brought  a  piece  of  honeycomb  to  refresh 
him,  and  Coon  told  him  the  proposed  plan,  which 
delighted  the  boy  greatly. 

"  And  I  am  to  do  the  whistling  ? "  he  ex- 
claimed. "  I  must  practise  a  bit,  for  I  have  not 
done  any  frog-whistling  for  some  time."  And 
with  that  he  began  to  whistle  in  such  a  wonder- 
fully frog-like  way,  that  Bruin  almost  thought  he 
must  have  swallowed  a  frog. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       103 

"  How  do  you  do  that,  Toto  ?  "  he  asked.  "  I 
wish  I  could  learn.  You  just  purse  your  mouth  up 
so,  eh  ?  Ugh  !  wah  !  woonk !  "  And  the  bear  gave 
a  series  of  most  surprising  grunts  and  growls,  ac- 
companied with  such  singular  grimaces  that  both 
Toto  and  the  raccoon  rolled  over  on  the  ground  in 
convulsions  of  laughter. 

"  My  dear  Bruin,"  cried  Toto,  as  soon  as  he 
could  regain  a  little  composure,  "  I  don't  think  — 
ha  !  ha  !  ha  !  — I  really  do  not  think  you  will  ever 
be  mistaken  for  a  frog." 

"  Ho  !  ho  !  ho  ! "  cried  the  raccoon,  bursting  into 
another  fit  of  laughter  as  he  looked  towards  the 
mouth  of  the  cave.  "  Look  at  Cracker.  Oh,  my 
eye !  ivill  you  look  at  Cracker  ?  Oh,  dear  me !  I 
shall  certainly  die  if  I  laugh  any  more.  Ho  !  ho  !  " 

Bruin  and  Toto  turned,  and  saw  the  squirrel 
hobbling  in,  dressed  in  a  green  frog-skin,  and  look- 
ing —  well,  did  you  ever  see  a  squirrel  in  a  frog- 
skin ?  No  ?  Then  you  never  saw  the  funniest 
thing  in.  the  world. 

Poor  Cracker,  however,  seemed  to  see  no  fun  in 


104       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

it  at  all.  "  It 's  all  very  well  for  you  fellows  to 
laugh,"  he  said  ruefully.  "  I  wonder  how  you 
would  like  to  be  pinched  up  in  an  abominable,  ill- 
fitting  thing  like  this  ?  Ugh  !  I  would  n't  be  a 
frog  for  all  the  beechnuts  in  the  world.  Come 
on  !  "  he  added  sharply.  "  Let  us  get  the  matter 
over,  and  have  done  with  it.  I  can't  stand  this 
long." 

Accordingly  the  three  started  off,  leaving  Bruin 
shaking  his  head  and  chuckling  at  the  mouth  of 
the  cave. 

Arrived  at  the  pool,  they  stationed  themselves 
as  had  been  previously  arranged :  the  squirrel  on 
a  large  stone  at  the  very  edge  of  the  pool,  with 
the  tar-bucket  beside  him  ;  the  raccoon  crouching 
among  the  tall  reeds  on  one  side  of  the  stone, 
while  Toto  lay  closely  hidden  on  the  other,  behind 
a  clump  of  tall  ferns. 

When  all  was  ready,  Toto  began  to  whistle. 
At  first  he  whistled  very  softly,  but  gradually  the 
notes  swelled,  growing  clearer  and  shriller,  till 
they  seemed  to  fill  the  air. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


105 


Presently  a  ripple  was  seen  in  the  clear  water, 
and  the  sharp  black  nose  of  a  muskrat  appeared 
above  the  surface.  "  Lovely  creature  !  "  exclaimed 
the  muskrat.  "  Adored  Miss  Bullfrog,  is  it  pos- 
sible that  you  have 
changed  your  mind,  and 
decided  to  listen  to 
my  suit  ?  " 


"  '  Oh,  rapture  ! '  cried  the  muskrat." 

"  I  have,"  said  the  squirrel  softly. 

"  Oh,  rapture  !  "  cried  the  muskrat.  "  Come, 
then,  at  once  with  me !  Let  us  fly,  or  rather 
swim,  before  your  tyrannical  parent  discovers  us ! 
Leap  down,  my  lovely  one,  with  your  accus- 


106       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TO  TO. 

tomed  grace  and  agility,  into  the  arms  of  your 
faithful,  your  adoring  muskrat !  Come  !  " 

"  You  must  come  a  little  nearer,"  whispered 
the  squirrel  coyly.  "  I  want  to  be  sure  that  it  is 
really  you  ;  such  a  sudden  step,  you  know  !  Please 
put  your  whole  head  out,  my  love,  that  I  may  be 
quite  sure  of  you  1 " 

The  eager  muskrat  thrust  his  head  out  of 
the  water;  and  plump  1  the  squirrel  dropped  the 
tar  on  the  end  of  his  nose. 

The  muskrat  gave  a  wild  shriek,  and  plunging 
his  nose  among  the  rushes  on  the  bank,  tried  to  rub 
off  the  tar.  But,  alas  !  the  tar  stuck  to  the  rushes, 
and  his  nose  stuck  to  the  tar,  and  there  he  was  ! 

At  that  instant  the  raccoon  leaped  from  his 
hiding-place. 

Toto,  still  concealed  behind  the  clump  of  ferns, 
heard  the  noise  of  a  violent  struggle ;  then  came 
several  short  squeaks ;  then  a  crunching  noise  ;  and 
then  silence.  Coming  out  from  his  hiding-place, 
he  saw  the  raccoon  sitting  quietly  on  a  stone,  lick- 
ing his  chops,  and  smoothing  his  ruffled  fur. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       107 

He  smiled  sweetly  at  Toto,  and  said,  "  It 's 
all  right,  my  boy !  you  whistled  beautifully ; 
couldn't  have  done  it  better  myself!"  (N.  B. 
Coon's  whistling  powers  were  nearly  equal  to 
those  of  the  bear.) 

"  But  where  is  the  muskrat  ?  "  asked  Toto,  be- 
wildered. "  What  have  you  done  with  him  ?  " 

"Eaten  him,  my  dear  !  "  replied  Coon,  benignly. 
"It  is  always  the  best  plan  in  any  case  of  this  sort ; 
saves  trouble,  you  see,  and  prevents  any  further 
inquiry  in  the  matter;  besides,  I  was  always 
taught  in  my  youth  never  to  waste  anything. 
The  flavor  was  not  all  I  could  have  wished,"  he 
added,  "  and  there  was  more  or  less  stringiness ; 
but  what  will  not  one  do  in  the  cause  of  friend- 
ship !  Don't  mention  it,  Cracker,  my  boy !  I 
am  sure  you  would  have  done  as  much  for  me. 
And  now  let  us  help  you  off  with  the  overcoat  of 
the  late  lamented  Bullfrog ;  for  to  speak  in  perfect 
frankness,  Cracker,  it  is  not  what  one  would  call 
becoming  to  your  style  of  beauty." 


108       THE  JOYOUS  STOEY  OF  TOTO. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

account  of  the  woodchuck's  illness,  and  at 
the  special  request  of  Pigeon  Pretty,  the 
story-telling  was  postponed  for  a  day  or  two. 
Very  soon,  however,  Chucky  recovered  suffi- 
ciently to  ride  as  far  as  the  cottage  on  Bruin's 
back :  and  on  a  fine  afternoon  the  friends  were 
all  once  more  assembled,  and  waiting  for  Toto's 
story. 

"  I  don't  know  any  long  stories,"  said  Toto, 
"  at  least  not  well  enough  to  tell  them ;  so 
I  will  tell  two  short  ones  instead.  Will  that 
do  ?  " 

"  Just  as  well,"  said  the  raccoon.  "  Five  min- 
utes for  refreshments  between  the  two,  did  you 
say  ?  My  view  precisely." 

Toto  smiled,  and  began  the  story  of 


THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  109 


THE  TRAVELLER,  THE  COOK,  AND  THE  LITTLE 

OLD   MAN. 

ONCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  little  old  man 
who  lived  in  a  well.  He  was  a  very  small  little 
old  man,  and  the  well  was  very  deep ;  and  the 
only  reason  why  he  lived  there  was  because  he 
could  not  get  out.  Indeed,  what  better  reason 
could  he  have  ? 

He  had  long  white  hair,  and  a  long  red  nose, 
and  a  long  green  coat ;  and  this  was  all  he  had  in 
the  world,  except  a  three-legged  stool,  a  large 
iron  kettle,  and  a  cook.  There  was  not  room  in 
the  well  for  the  cook ;  so  she  lived  on  the  ground 
above,  and  cooked  the  little  old  man's  dinner  and 
supper  in  the  iron  kettle,  and  lowered  them  down 
to  him  in  the  bucket ;  and  the  little  old  man  sat 
on  the  three-legged  stool,  and  ate  whatever  the 
cook  sent  down  to  him,  with  a  cheerful  heart, 
if  it  was  good ;  and  so  things  went  on  very 
pleasantly. 


110 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


But  one  day  it  happened  that  the  cook  could 
not  find  anything  for  the  old  man's  dinner.     She 

looked  high,  and  she  looked 
low,  but   nothing  could  she 
find  ;  so  she  was  very  un- 
happy ;    for   she  knew  her 
master  would  be  misera- 
ble if  he  had  no 
dinner.     She  sat 
down    by     the 
well,    and     wept 
bitterly ;  and  her 
tears  fell  into  the 
well  so  fast  that 
the  little  old  man 
thought    it    was 
raining,   and  put 
up  a  red  cotton 
umbrella,    which 
he  borrowed  for 

the  occasion.  You  may  wonder  where  he  bor- 
rowed it ;  but  I  cannot  tell  you,  because  I  do  not 
know. 


"The  old  man  thought  it  was  raining." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       Ill 

Now,  at  that  moment  a  traveller  happened  to 
pass  by,  and  when  he  saw  the  cook  sitting  by  the 
well  and  weeping,  he  stopped,  and  asked  her  what 
was  the  matter.  So  the  cook  told  him  that  she 
was  weeping  because  she  could  not  find  anything 
to  cook  for  her  master's  dinner. 

"  And  who  is  your  master  ?  "  asked  the  traveller. 

"  He  is  a  little  old  man,"  replied  the  cook  ; 
"  and  he  lives  down  in  this  well." 

"  Why  does  he  live  there  ?  "  inquired  the  traveller. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  answered  the  cook ;  "  I  never 
asked  him." 

"  He  must  be  a  singular  person,"  said  the  trav- 
eller. "  I  should  like  to  see  him.  What  does  he 
look  like  ? " 

But  this  the  cook  could  not  tell  him ;  for  she 
had  never  seen  the  little  old  man,  having  come  to 
work  for  him  after  he  had  gone  down  to  live  in 
the  well. 

"  Does  he  like  to  receive  visitors  ?  "  asked  the 
traveller. 

"  Don't  know,"  said  the  cook.  "  He  has  never 
had  any  to  receive  since  I  have  been  here." 


112        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  Humph  !  "  said  the  other.  "  I  think  I  will  go 
down  and  pay  my  respects  to  him.  Will  you  let 
me  down  in  the  bucket?" 

"  But  suppose  he  should  mistake  you  for  his 
dinner,  and  eat  you  up  ?  "  the  cook  suggested. 

"  Pooh  !  "  he  replied.  "  No  fear  of  that ;  I  can 
take  care  of  myself.  And  as  for  his  dinner,"  he 
added,  "  get  him  some  radishes.  There  are  plenty 
about  here.  I  had  nothing  but  radishes  for  my 
dinner,  and  very  good  they  were,  though  rather 
biting.  Let  down  the  bucket,  please  !  I  am  all 
right." 

"  What  are  radishes  ?n  the  cook  called  after  him 
as  he  went  down. 

"  Long  red  things,  stupid !  with  green  leaves  to 
them !  "  he  shouted ;  and  then,  in  a  moment,  he 
found  himself  at  the  bottom  of  the  well. 

The  little  old  man  was  delighted  to  see  him,  and 
told  him  that  he  had  lived  down  there  forty  years, 
and  had  never  had  a  visitor  before  in  all  that  time. 

"  Why  do  you  live  down  here  ?  "  inquired  the 
traveller. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       113 

"  Because  I  cannot  get  out,"  replied  the  little 
old  man. 

"  But  how  did  you  get  down  here  in  the  first 
place  ?  " 

"  Really,"  he  said,  "  it  is  so  long  ago  that  I 
hardly  remember.  My  impression  is,  however, 
that  I  came  down  in  the  bucket." 

"  Then  why,  in  the  name  of  common-sense," 
said  the  traveller,  "  don't  you  go  up  in  the 
bucket  ? " 

The  little  old  man  sprang  up  from  the  three- 
legged  stool,  and  flung  his  arms  around  the 
traveller's  neck.  "  My  dear  friend  !  "  he  cried  rap- 
turously. "  My  precious  benefactor !  Thank  you 
a  thousand  times  for  those  words !  I  assure  you 
I  never  thought  of  it  before  !  I  will  go  up  at 
once.  You  will  excuse  me  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  traveller.  "  Go  up  first, 
and  I  will  follow  }7ou." 

The  little  old  man  got  into  the  bucket,  and  was 
drawn  up  to  the  top  of  the  well.  But,  alas ! 
when  the  cook  saw  his  long  red  nose  and  his 


114 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


long  green  coat,  she  said  to  herself,  "  This  must 
be  a  radish  !  How  lucky  I  am  !  "  and  seizing  the 
poor  little  old  man,  she  popped  him  into  the 
kettle  without  more  ado.  Then  she  let  the  bucket 


"  'T  is  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody  any  good  !  " 

down  for  the  traveller,  calling  to  him  to  make 
haste,  as  she  wanted  to  send  down  her  master's 
dinner. 

Up  came    the   traveller,  and   looking   around, 
asked  where  her  master  was. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       115 

"  Where  should  he  be,"  said  the  cook,  "  but  at 
the  bottom  of  the  well,  where  you  left  him  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  exclaimed  the  traveller. 
"  He  has  just  come  up  in  the  bucket !  " 

"  Oh ! "  cried  the  cook.  "  Oh !  oh ! !  o-o-o-n  ! ! ! 
was  that  my  master  ?  Why,  I  thought  he  was 
a  radish,  and  I  have  boiled  him  for  his  own 
dinner ! " 

"  I  hope  he  will  have  a  good  appetite !  "  said 
the  traveller. 

The  cook  was  a  good  woman,  and  her  grief  was 
so  excessive  that  she  fell  into  the  kettle  and  was 
boiled  too. 

Then  the  traveller,  who  had  formerly  been  an 
ogre  by  profession,  said,  "  'T  is  an  ill  wind  that 
blows  nobody  any  good  !  My  dinner  was  very 
insufficient ;  "  and  he  ate  both  the  little  old  man 
and  the  cook,  and  proceeded  on  his  journey  with 
a  cheerful  heart. 

"The  traveller  was  a  sensible  man,"  said  Bruin. 
"  Did  you  make  up  that  story,  Toto  ?  " 


116       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Toto.  "  I  made  it  up  the  other 
day.  —  one  of  those  rainy  days.  I  found  a  forked 
radish  in  the  bunch  we  had  for  tea,  and  it  had  a 
kind  of  nose,  and  looked  just  like  a  funny  little 
red  man.  So  I  thought  that  if  there  was  a  radish 
that  looked  like  a  man,  there  might  be  a  man  that 
looked  like  a  radish,  you  see.  And  now  —  " 

"  Ahem  !  "  said  the  raccoon  softly.  "  Did  you 
say  five  minutes  for  refreshments,  Toto,  or  did  I 
misunderstand  you  ?  "  and  he  winked  at  the  com- 
pany in  a  very  expressive  manner. 

Toto  ran  to  get  the  gingerbread  ;  and  for  some 
time  sounds  of  crunching  and  nibbling  were  the 
only  ones  that  were  heard,  except  the  constant 
"  click,  click,"  of  the  grandmother's  needles. 
Bruin  sat  for  some  time  watching  in  silence  the 
endless  crossing  and  re-crossing  of  the  shining  bits 
of  steel.  Presently  he  said  in  a  timid  growl, — 

"  Excuse  me,  ma'am  ;  do  you  make  the  ginger- 
bread with  those  things?" 

"With  what  things,  Mr.  Bruin?"  asked  the 
grandmother. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       117 

"  Those  bright  things  that  go  clickety-clack," 
said  the  bear.  "  I  see  some  soft  brown  stuff  on 
them,  just  about  the  color  of  the  gingerbread,  and 
I  thought  possibly  —  " 

"  Oh,"  said  the  grandmother,  smiling,  "  you 
mean  my  knitting.  No,  Mr.  Bruin,  gingerbread 
is  made  in  a  very  different  way.  I  mix  it  in 
a  bowl,  with  a  spoon,  and  then  I  put  it  in  a 
pan,  and  bake  it  in  the  oven.  Do  you  under- 
stand ?  " 

Poor  Bruin  rubbed  his  nose,  and  looked  help- 
lessly at  Coon.  The  latter,  however,  merely 
grinned  diabolically  at  him,  and  said  nothing ; 
so  he  was  obliged  to  answer  the  grandmother 
himself. 

"  Oh,  of  course,"  he  said.  "  If  you  mix  it  with 
a  spoon,  I  should  say  certainly.  As  far  as  a  spoon 
goes,  you  know,  I  —  ah  —  quite  correct,  I  'm  sure." 
Here  the  poor  fellow  subsided  into  a  vague  mur- 
mur, and  glared  savagely  at  the  raccoon. 

But  nowr  the  gentle  wood-pigeon  interposed, 
with  her  soft,  cooing  voice.  "  Toto,"  she  said. 


118       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  were  we  not  promised  two  stories  to-day  ?  Tell 
us  the  other  one  now,  dear  boy,  for  the  shadows 
are  beginning  to  lengthen." 

"  I  made  this  story  myself,  too,"  said  To  to, 
"  and  it  is  called 

THE  AMBITIOUS   ROCKING-HOESE. 

THERE  was  once  a  rocking-horse,  but  he  did  not 
want  to  be  a  rocking-horse.  He  wanted  to  be  a 
trotter.  So  he  went  to  a  jockey  — 

"  What 's  a  jockey  ?  "  inquired  the  bear. 

A  man  who  drives  fast  and  tells  lies. 

He  went  to  a  jockey  and  asked  him  if  he  would 
like  to  buy  a  trotter. 

"  Where  is  your  trotter  ?  "  asked  the  jockey. 

"  Me  's  him,"  said  the  rocking-horse.  That  was 
all  the  grammar  he  knew. 

"  Oh  !  "  said  the  jockey.  "  You  are  the  trotter, 
eh?" 

"  Yes,"  said  the  rocking-horse.  "  What  will  you 
give  me  for  myself  ?  " 

"  A  bushel  of  shavings,"  said  the  jockey. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


119 


The  rocking-horse  thought  that  was  better  than 
nothing,  so  he  sold  himself.  Then  the  jockey 
took  him  to  another  jockey  who  was  blind,  and 
told  him  (the  blind  jockey)  that  this  was  the  Sky- 
born  Snorter  of  the  Sarsaparillas,  and  that  he 


"  '  Me  's  him,'  said  the  rocking-horse. 


could  trot  two  miles  in  a  minute.  So  the  blind 
jockey  bought  him,  and  paid  ten  thousand  dollars 
for  him. 

There  was  a  race  the  next  day,  and  the  blind 
jockey  took  the  Sky-born  Snorter  to  the  race- 
course, and  started  him  with  the  other  horses. 


120        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

The  other  horses  trotted  away  round  the  course, 
but  the  Sky-born  Snorter  stayed  just  where  he 
was,  and  rocked ;  and  when  the  other  horses  came 
round  the  turn,  there  he  was  waiting  for  them  at 
the  judge's  stand.  So  he  won  the  race;  and  the 
judge  gave  the  prize,  which  was  a  white  buffalo, 
to  the  blind  jockey. 

The  jockey  put  the  Sky-born  Snorter  in  the 
stable,  and  then  went  to  get  his  white  buffalo  ; 
and  while  he  was  gone,  the  other  jockeys  came 
into  the  stable  to  see  the  new  horse. 

"  Why,  he  's  a  rocking-horse  !  "  said  one  of 
them. 

"  Hush ! "  said  the  Sky-born  Snorter.  "  Yes,  I 
am  a  rocking-horse,  but  don't  tell  my  master.  He 
does  n't  know  it,  and  he  paid  ten  thousand  dollars 
for  me." 

"  Whom  did  he  pay  it  to  ?  "  asked  the  jockeys. 

"  To  the  other  jockey,  who  bought  me  from 
myself,"  replied  the  Snorter. 

"  Oh  !  and  what  did  he  give  for  you  ?  " 

"  A  bushel  of  shavings,"  said  the  Snorter. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       121 

"  Ah ! "  said  one  of  the  jockeys.  "  A  bushel  of 
shavings,  eh  ?  Now,  how  would  you  like  to  have 
those  shavings  turned  into  gold  ?  " 

"  Very  much  indeed  !  "  cried  the  Sky-born. 

"  Well,"  said  the  jockey,  "  bring  them  here,  and 
we  will  change  them  for  you." 

So  the  rocking-horse  went  and  fetched  the  shav- 
ings, and  the  jockeys  set  fire  to  them.  The  flames 
shot  up,  bright  and  yellow. 

"  See  !  "  cried  the  jockeys.  "  The  shavings  are 
all  turned  into  gold.  Now  we  will  see  what  we 
can  do  for  you."  And  they  took  the  Sky-born 
Snorter  and  put  him  in  the  fire,  and  he  turned 
into  gold  too,  and  was  all  burned  up.  And  the 
blind  jockey  drove  the  white  buffalo  all  the  rest 
of  his  life,  and  never  knew  the  difference. 

Moral :  don't  be  ambitious. 

They  all  laughed  heartily  at  the  fate  of  the  Sky- 
born  Snorter ;  and  the  wood-pigeon  said,  "  Both 
your  stories  have  a  most  melancholy  ending,  Toto. 
One  hero  boiled  and  eaten  up,  and  the  other 


122       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

burned !  It  is  quite  dreadful.  I  think  I  must 
tell  the  next  story  myself,  and  I  shall  be  sure  to 
tell  one  that  ends  cheerfully." 

"  Yes,  yes  !  "  cried  all  the  others.  "  Pigeon 
Pretty  shall  be  the  next  story-teller !  " 

"  And  now,"  continued  the  pigeon, "  my  Chucky 
must  go  home  to  his  supper,  for  he  is  not  well  yet, 
by  any  means,  and  must  be  very  careful  of  him- 
self. Climb  up  on  Bruin's  back,  Chucky  dear  ! 
so,  that  is  right.  Good-night,  Toto.  Good-night, 
dear  madam.  Now  home  again,  all ! "  and  flying 
round  and  round  the  bear's  head,  Pigeon  Pretty 
led  the  way  towards  the  forest. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       123 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

"TS  this  one  of  your  own  stories  that  yon  are 
going  to  tell  us,  Pigeon  Pretty  ?  "  inquired 
the    squirrel,  when    they   were    next    assembled 
around  the  cottage  door. 

"  No,  "  replied  the  wood-pigeon.  "  This  is  a 
story  I  heard  a  short  time  ago.  I  was  flying 
home,  after  paying  a  visit  to  some  cousins  of  mine 
who  live  in  a  village  some  miles  away.  As  I 
passed  by  a  pretty  white  cottage,  something  like 
this,  I  noticed  that  there  were  crumbs  scattered 
on  one  of  the  window-sills.  '  Here  lives  somebodv 

«/ 

who  is  fond  of  birds ! '  said  I  to  myself,  and  as  I 
was  rather  hungry,  I  stopped  to  pick  up  some  of 
the  crumbs.  The  window  was  open,  and  looking 
in,  I  saw  a  pretty  and  neatly  furnished  room. 
Near  the  window  was  a  bed,  in  which  lay  a  boy  of 
about  Toto's  age.  He  was  evidently  ill,  for  he 


124       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

had  a  bandage  tied  round  his  head,  and  he  looked 
pale  and  thin.  Beside  the  bed  sat  a  little  girl, 
apparently  a  year  or  two  older;  a  sweet,  pretty 
girl,  as  one  would  wish  to  see.  She  was  reading 
aloud  to  her  brother  (I  suppose  he  was  her 
brother)  from  a  large  red  book.  Neither  of  the 
children  noticed  me,  so  I  sat  on  the  window-sill 
for  some  time,  and  heard  the  whole  of  this  story, 
which  you  shall  now  hear  in  your  turn.  It  is 
called 

THE   STORY  OF  THE   TAIL  OF  THE   BARON'S 
WAR-HORSE. 

MANY  years  ago  there  lived  a  Baron,  famous 
in  peace  and  war,  but  chiefly  in  the  latter.  War 
was  his  great  delight,  fighting  his  natural  occupa- 
tion ;  and  he  was  never  so  much  in  his  element  as 
when  leading  his  valiant  troops  to  battle,  mounted 
on  his  noble  iron-gray  charger.  Ah !  what  a 
charger  that  was  !  —  stately  and  strong,  swift  and 
sure,  fiery  and  bold,  yet  ready  to  obey  his  master's 
lightest  touch  or  softest  word ;  briefly,  a  horse  in 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       125 

ten  thousand.  Eight  proud  the  Baron  was  of  his 
gallant  steed ;  and  right  well  did  they  love  each 
other,  horse  and  master. 

The  vassals  of  the  Baron  knew  no  greater 
pleasure  than  to  see  their  lord  ride  by  mounted  on 
Gray  Berold ;  it  filled  their  souls  with  joy.  and 
caused  them  to  throw  up  their  caps  and  shout 
'•  Hi ! "  in  a  hilarious  manner.  As  for  the  lovely 
Ermengarde,  the  Baron's  young  and  beautiful 
wife,  she  would  far  rather  have  gone  without  her 
dinner  than  have  missed  the  sight.  Whenever 
Gray  Berold  was  brought  to  the  door,  she  has- 
tened out,  and  overwhelmed  him  with  caresses 
and  words  of  endearment,  proffering  meanwhile 
the  toothsome  sugar  and  the  crisp  and  sprightly 
apple,  neither  of  which  the  engaging  animal  dis- 
dained to  accept.  In  truth,  it  was  a  goodly  sight 
to  see  the  golden  locks  of  the  lady  (for  was  she 
not  known  in  all  the  country  as  Ermengarde  of 
the  Fair  Tresses  ?)  mingling  with  the  wavy  silver 
of  the  charger's  mane  as  he  bent  his  head  lovingly 
over  his  fair  young  mistress,  —  a  goodly  sight, 


126       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

and  one  which  often  sent  the  bold  Baron  rejoicing 
on  his  way,  with  a  tender  smile  on  his  otherwise 
slightly  ferocious  countenance. 

It  chanced  one  day  that  a  great  tournament 
was  about  to  take  place  in  the  neighborhood.  All 
the  knights  in  the  country  round,  and  many  bold 
champions  from  a  greater  distance,  were  to  show 
their  prowess  in  riding  at  the  ring,  and  in  friendly 
combat  with  each  other.  Among  the  gallant 
knights,  who  so  ready  for  the  tournament  as  our 
bold  Baron  ?  He  fairly  pranced  for  the  fray  ;  for 
there  had  been  no  war  for  two  months,  and  he  was 
very  weary  of  the  long  peaceful  days.  He  had 
been  practising  for  a  week  past,  riding  at  any 
number  of  rings  of  different  sizes,  and  tilting  with 
his  squire,  whom  he  had  run  through  the  body 
several  times,  thereby  seriously  impairing  that 
worthy's  digestive  powers. 

And  now  the  eventful  morning  was  come. 
The  vassals  were  assembled  in  the  courtyard  of 
the  castle,  a  goodly  array,  to  see  their  master 
depart  in  pomp  and  pride. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       127 

Gray  Berold  was  brought  round  to  the  door, 
magnificently  caparisoned,  his  bridle  and  hous- 
ings glittering  with  precious  stones.  The  gallant, 
steed  pawed  the  ground,  and  tossed  his  head 
proudly,  as  impatient  of  delay  as  his  master. 
From  a  balcony  above  leaned  the  lovely  Ermen- 
garde,  her  golden  tresses  crowned  with  a  nightcap 
of  rare  and  curious  design  ;  for  the  Baron  was 
making  an  early  start,  and  his  fair  lady  had  not 
yet  completed  her  toilet. 

Amid  the  vociferous  cheers  of  his  vassals,  the 
Baron  descended  the  steps,  armed  cap-a-pie,  his 
good  sword  by  his  side,  and  his  mace,  battle-axe, 
cutlass,  and  shillalah  displayed  about  his  stately 
person  in  a  very  imposing  manner.  He  could 
scarcely  walk,  it  is  true,  so  many  and  so  weighty 
were  his  accoutrements ;  but  then,  as  he  himself 
aptly  observed,  he  did  not  want  to  walk. 

He  got  into  the  saddle  with  some  difficulty, 
owing  to  the  tendency  of  his  battle-axe  to  get 
between  his  legs ;  but  once  there,  the  warrior  was 
at  home.  An  attendant  handed  him  his  lance, 


128       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

with  its  glittering  pennon.  Gray  Berold  pranced 
and  curvetted,  making  nothing  of  the  enormous 
weight  on  his  back  ;  the  Lady  Ermengarde  waved 
her  broidered  kerchief;  and,  with  a  parting  glance 
at  his  lovely  bride,  the  Baron  rode  slowly  out  of 
the  courtyard. 

But,  alas !  he  was  not  destined  to  ride  far. 
Alas  for  the  proud  Baron  !  Alas  and  alack  for  the 
gallant  steed  ! 

He  had  scarcely  ridden  a  hundred  paces  when 
he  heard  a  fearful  growl  behind  him,  which  caused 
him  to  turn  quickly  in  his  saddle.  What  was  his 
horror  to  see  a  huge  bear  spring  out  of  the  woods 
and  come  rushing  towards  him ! 

For  one  moment  the  Baron  was  paralyzed ;  the 
next,  he  wheeled  his  horse  round,  and  couching 
his  lance,  prepared  to  meet  his  savage  assailant. 

But  Gray  Berold  had  not  bargained  for  this. 
Many  a  fair  fight  had  he  seen  in  battle-field  and  in 
tourney ;  many  a  time  he  had  faced  danger  as 
boldly  as  his  rider,  and  had  borne  the  brunt  of 
many  a  fierce  attack.  But  those  fights  were 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


129 


with  men  and  horses.  He  knew  what  they  were, 
and  how  they  should  be  met ;  but  this  was  some- 
thing very  different.  This  great  creature,  that 
came  rushing  along  with  its  head  down  and  its 


"  The  bear  caught  the  charger  by  the  tail." 

mouth  open,  was  something  Berold  did  not  know ; 
moreover,  it  was  something  he  did  not  like.  Stand 
there  and  be  rushed  at  by  a  thing  that  was  neither 
horse  nor  man?  Not  if  he  knew  it !  And  just 
when  the  bear  was  close  upon  him,  Gray  Berold, 

9 


130       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

with  a  squeal  of  mingled  terror  and  anger,  wheeled 
short  round.  The  bear  made  a  spring,  and 
caught  the  charger  by  the  tail.  The  terrified 
animal  bounded  forward  ;  the  Baron  made  a  down- 
ward stroke  with  his  battle-axe  that  would  have 
felled  an  ox,  and  Master  Bruin  (no  offence  to 
you,  my  dear  fellow!  it's  the  name  of  all  your 
family,  you  know)  rolled  over  and  over  in  the 
dust. 

But  alas  !  and  alas !  he  took  the  tail  with  him  !  That 
noble  tail,  the  pride  of  the  stable-yard,  the  glory 
of  the  grooms,  lay  in  the  road,  a  glittering  mass 
of  silver ;  and  it  was  a  tailless  steed  that  now 
galloped  frantically  back-  into  the  castle-court, 
from  which  only  a  few  short  minutes  ago  he  had 
so  proudly  emerged. 

The  Baron  was  mad  with  fury.  Pity  for  his 
gallant  horse,  rage  and  mortification  at  the  ridicu- 
lous plight  he  was  in,  anxiety  lest  he  should  be 
late  for  the  tournament,  all  combined  to  make 
him  for  a  time  beside  himself :  he  rushed  up  and 
down  the  courtyard,  whirling  his  battle-axe  round 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       131 

his  head,  and  uttering  the  most  fearful  impreca- 
tions. Finally,  however,  yielding  to  the  tears  and 
entreaties  of  his  retainers,  he  calmed  his  noble 
frenzy,  and  set  himself  to  think  what  was  best 
to  be  done.  "  Give  up  the  tournament  ?  Perish 
the  thought !  Ride  another  horse  than  Berold  ? 
Never  while  he  lives !  Ride  him  tailless  and 
unadorned  ?  Shades  of  my  ancestors  forbid  !  " 
thus  cried  the  Baron  at  every  new  suggestion 
of  his  sympathizing  retainers. 

At  last  the  head  groom  had  an  idea.  "  Let  us 
fasten  on  another  tail,"  he  said,  "  an't  please  your 
worship !  " 

"  Ha  !  "  cried  the  Baron,  starting  at  the  notion. 
"  'T  is  well !  Ho  !  there,  Hodge,  Barnaby,  Perkin  ! 
Cut  me  the  tails  from  the  three  cart-horses,  and 
tie  them  together.  And  be  quick  about  it,  ye 
knaves !  " 

The  three  grooms  flew  to  execute  their  master's 
mandate,  and  returned  in  a  few  minutes,  bearing 
a  magnificent  tail,  whose  varied  hues  of  black, 
sorrel,  and  white,  showed  it  to  be  the  spoil  of 


132       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

Dobbin,  Smiler,  and  Bumps,  the  three  stout  Flem- 
ish cart-horses. 

"  By  my  halidome,  a  motley  tail !  "  exclaimed 
the  Baron.  "  But  it  boots  not,  so  it  be  a  tail  ! 
Fasten  it  on  with  all  speed,  for  time  presses !  — 
ha  !  what  is  this  !  " 

Well  might  the  Baron  start,  and  exclaim. 

The  moment  the  three  grooms  touched  the 
flanks  of  Gray  Berold,  before  they  had  time  to 
lay  hands  on  the  stump  of  his  tail,  they  found 
themselves  flying  through  the  air,  and  tumbling 
in  a  very  uncomfortable  sort  of  way  against  the 
wall  of  the  courtyard.  Marry,  that  was  a  brave 
kick  !  and  when  he  had  given  it,  the  charger 
looked  round  after  the  unhappy  grooms,  and 
tossed  his  stately  head,  and  snorted,  evidently 
meaning  to  say,  "Don't  you  want  to  try  it 
again?" 

But  the  grooms  did  not  want  to  try  it  again. 
They  picked  themselves  up,  and  rubbed  their 
poor  shins  and  their  poor  heads,  and  proceeded 
to  hobble  off  on  their  poor  feet  as  fast  as  they 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


133 


could.     But  they  did  not  hobble  far,  for  the  voice 

of  the  Baron  was  heard  in  angry  expostulation. 

"  How   now,    varlets ! "    cried    that   nobleman. 

"  Do  you  slink  away  like  beaten  hounds  because. 


"They  found  themselves  fl.ving  through  the  air." 

forsooth,  the  good  beast  shakes  off  a  fly,  or  lashes 
out  his  heels  in  playful  sport?  Shame  on  ye,  cow- 
ard hinds  !  Back,  I  command  ye,  and  tie  me  on 
that  tail.  Obey,  sirrahs,  or  else  —  hum  —  ha  — 
hrrrrugh  ! ! !"  and  the  Baron  waved  his  battle-axe, 


134        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

and  looked  as  if  he  had  swallowed  the  meat-chop- 
per and  the  gridiron  and  the  blunderbuss,  all  at 
one  mouthful. 

Hodge,  Barnaby,  and  Perkin  were  in  a  bad  way, 
assuredly.  On  the  one  hand  was  the  charger, 
snorting  defiance,  and  with  his  heels  all  ready  for 
the  next  kick,  should  they  presume  to  touch  him; 
on  the  other  was  the  furious  Baron,  also  snorting, 
and  with  his  battle-axe  all  ready  for  the  next 
whack,  should  they  presume  not  to  touch  him. 
Here  were  two  sharp  horns  to  a  dilemma  ! 

Cautiously  the  poor  knaves  crept  up  once 
more  behind  Gray  Berold.  "  Vault  thou  upon 
his  back,  Perkin  !  "  whispered  Barnaby.  "  Per- 
chance from  there — "  Whizz!  whack!  thud!  — 
This  time  Berold  did  not  wait  for  them  to  touch 
him  :  the  sound  of  their  voices  was  enough ;  there 
they  all  lay  again  in  a  heap  against  the  wall, 
moaning  sore  and  cursing  the  day  they  were 
born. 

But  now  the  Baron's  humor  changed.  "  Be- 
shrew  me!"  he  cried.  "'Tis  a  gallant  steed. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       135 

He  will  not  brook,  at  such  a  moment,  the  touch 
of  hireling  hands.  'T  is  well !  give  me  the  tail, 
my  masters!  and  ye  shall  see." 

Alas !  they  did  see ;  they  saw  their  Baron  roll- 
ing over  and  over  on  the  ground.  They  saw 
their  Baron  roll ;  they  heard  their  Baron  rave ; 
they  turned  and  fled  for  their  lives. 

At  this  moment  the  portal  swung  open,  and 
the  Lady  Ermengarde  appeared.  She  had  seen 
all  from  an  upper  window7,  and  she  now  hastened 
to  raise  her  fallen  lord,  who  sat  spluttering  and 
cursing  on  the  ground,  unable  to  rise,  owing  to 
the  weight  of  his  armor.  "  Oh !  blame  not  the 
steed  !  "  cried  the  lovely  lady.  "  Chide  not  the 
gallant  beast,  good  my  lord  !  't  was  not  the  touch, 
't  was  the  tail,  he  could  not  brook.  Tie  the  rus- 
tic tail  of  a  plebeian  cart-horse  on  Gray  Berold  ? 
Oh  !  fie,  my  lord !  it  may  not  be.  /  will  provide 
a  tail  for  your  charger !  " 

"  You  !  "  exclaimed  the  Baron.  "  What  mean 
you,  lady?" 

The  Lady  Ermengarde  replied  by  drawing  from 


136       THE  JOYOUS  STOHY  OF  TO  TO. 

the  embroidered  pouch  which  hung  from  her  jew- 
elled girdle  a  pair  of  shears.  Snip  !  snap  !  snip  ! 
snap !  and  before  her  astonished  lord  could  inter- 
fere, the  golden  tresses,  the  pride  of  the  whole 
country-side,  were  severed  from  her  head.  Deftly 
she  tied  the  shining  curls  together;  lightly  she 
stepped  to  where  Gray  Berold  stood.  She  stroked 
his  noble  head;  she  spoke  to  him;  she  showed  him 
the  tresses,  and  told  him  what  she  had  done. 
Then  with  her  own  hands  she  tied  them  on  to 
the  stump  of  his  tail  with  her  embroidered  girdle  ; 
and  Gray  Berold  moved  not  fore-leg  nor  hind,  but 
stood  like  a  steed  of  granite  till  it  was  done. 

The  retainers  were  dissolved  in  tears;  the  Baron 
sobbed  aloud  as  he  climbed,  with  the  assistance  of 
seven  hostlers,  into  the  saddle ;  but  the  heroic 
lady  smiled,  and  bade  them  be  of  good  cheer. 
She  could  get  a  black  wig,  she  said ;  and  she 
had  always  thought  she  should  look  better  as  a 
brunette. 

And  to  make  a  long  story  short,  said  the  wood- 
pigeon,  she  did  get  a  black  wig,  and  looked  like 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       137 

a  beauty  in  it.  And  the  Baron  went  to  the 
tournament,  and  won  all  the  prizes.  And  Gray 
Berold  lived  to  be  sixty  years  old,  and  wore  the 
golden  tail  to  the  end  of  his  days.  And  that's 
all. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

!  what  a  delightful  story.  Pigeon  Pretty  !  " 
cried  Toto.  "  Did  you  hear  any  more  like 
it  ?  I  wish  I  had  that  red  book !  Did  the  boy 
look  as  nice  as  his  sister  ?  What  was  his  name  ?  " 

"  His  name,"  said  the  pigeon,  "  was  Jim,  I 
think.  And  he  did  not  —  no,  Toto,  he  certainly 
did  not  look  as  nice  as  his  sister.  In  fact,  al- 
though I  pitied  him  because  he  was  ill,  I  thought 
he  looked  like  a  disagreeable  sort  of  boy." 

"  Red  hair  ?  "  interposed  the  squirrel,  looking 
at  the  raccoon. 

"  Freckled  face  ?  "  asked  the  raccoon,  looking  at 
the  squirrel. 

"  Why,  yes  !  "  said  the  pigeon,  in  surprise.  "  He 
had  red  hair  and  a  freckled  face ;  but  how  should 
you  two  know  anything  about  him  ?  " 

The  squirrel  and  the  raccoon  nodded  at  each 
other. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        139 

"  Same  boy,  I  should  say  ! "  said  Cracker. 

"  Same  boy,  /should  say  !  "  answered  Coon. 

"  What  is  it  ? "  asked  Toto,  curious  as  usual. 
"  Tell  us  about  it,  one  of  you !  It  is  early  yet, 
and  we  have  plenty  of  time. 

"  Well,  I  will  tell  you,"  said  the  squirrel.  "  I 
meant  to  keep  it  and  tell  it  next  time,  for  I  can- 
not make  up  stories  as  easily  as  some  of  you,  and 
this  is  something  that  really  happened ;  but  I 
might  just  as  well  tell  it  now,  especially  as  Pigeon 
Pretty  has  told  you  about  the  boy. 

"You  need  not  be  at  all  sorry  for  that  boy," 
he  continued.  "  He  is  a  bad  boy,  and  he  deserves 
all  he  got,  and  more  too." 

"  Dear,  dear  !  "  said  the  grandmother.  "  I  am 
sorry  to  hear  that.  What  did  he  do,  Mr.  Cracker  ?  " 

"  He  tried  to  rob  my  Uncle  Munkle  of  his  win- 
ter store ! "  replied  the  squirrel.  "  And  he  got 
the  worst  of  it,  that 's  all." 

"Who  is  your  Uncle  Munkle?"  asked  Toto. 
"I  don't  know  him,  do  I?" 

"  No,"  said  Cracker.      "  He    lives  quite  at  the 


140  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF   TOTO. 

other  end  of  the  wood,  where  people  sometimes 
go  for  fagots  and  nuts  and  such  things.  Nobody 
ever  comes  near  our  end  of  the  wood,  because 
they  are  afraid  of  Bruin. 

"  Mj  uncle  is  a  Munk,"  he  continued,  "  and  a 
most  excellent  person." 

"  A  monk  ?  "  interrupted  the  grandmother  in 
amazement. 

"  Yes,  a  Chipmunk  !  "  said  the  squirrel.  "  It 's 
the  same  thing,  I  believe,  only  we  spell  it  with  a 
u.  Third  cousin  to  a  monkey,  you  know." 

Toto  and  his  grandmother  both  looked  quite  be- 
wildered at  this  ;  but  the  raccoon  smiled  sweetly, 
and  said, — 

"  Go  on,  Cracker,  my  boy  !  never  try  to  explain 
things  too  fully ;  it 's  apt  to  be  a  little  tedious, 
and  it  is  always  better  to  leave  something  to  the 
imagination." 

"  I  am  going  on,"  said  Cracker.  "  As  I  said 
before,  people  sometimes  go  into  that  part  of  the 
wood ;  there  are  one  or  two  hives  not  far  from 
it." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       141 

"  One  or  two  hives  ?  "  interrupted  Toto,  "  What 
do  you  mean,  Cracker  ?  " 

"  Why,  a  lot  of  houses  together,"  said  the 
squirrel.  "  Don't  you  call  them  hives  ?  The 
only  other  creatures  I  know  that  live  in  that 
kind  of  way  (and  a  very  poor  way  it  is,  to  my 
thinking)  are  the  bees,  and  their  places  are  called 
hives." 

"  A  collection  of  houses,  Mr.  Cracker,"  said  the 
grandmother  gently,  "  is  called  a  village  or  a 
town,  according  to  its  size ;  a  village  being  a  small 
collection." 

"  Oh !  "  said  the  squirrel.  "  Thank  you,  ma'am  ! 
I  will  try  to  remember  that.  Well,  this  boy  Jim 
lives  in  the  nearest  village,  and  sometimes  goes 
into  the  forest.  Now,  the  autumn  is  slipping 
away  fast,  as  we  all  know  ;  and  last  week  my 
Uncle  Munkle,  who  is  always  fore-handed  and 
thrift}-,  thought  it  was  high  time  to  be  getting  in 
his  winter  store  of  nuts  and  acorns.  So  he  sent 
for  his  nephews  to  come  and  help  him  (he  has  no 
children  of  his  own).  We  all  went,  of  course,  and 


142       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

Coon  went  with  us.  for  my  uncle  always  gives  us 
a  feast  after  the  nuts  are  in,  and  Coon  always 
goes  wherever  there  is  anything  to  — " 

"  What  ?  "  said  the  raccoon,  looking  up  sharply. 

"Wherever  there  is  anything  to  be  done  /"  said 

«/  o 

the  squirrel  hastily. 

"  The  second  dav.  as  we  were  all  hard  at  work 

*/   ' 

shelling  the  beechnuts,  I  heard  a  noise  among  the 
bushes,  —  a  crackling  noise  that  did  not  sound  like 
any  animal  I  knew.  I  looked,  and  saw  two  eyes 
peering  out  from  the  leaves  of  a  young  beech- 
tree.  '  That  is  a  boy,'  said  I  to  myself,  '  and  he 
means  mischief! '  So  I  skipped  off  without  say- 
ing anything  to  the  others,  and  crept  softly  round 
behind  the  bushes,  making  no  more  noise  than  an 
eel  in  the  mud.  There  I  found,  not  one  boy,  but 
two,  crouching  among  the  bushes,  and  watching 
the  nut-shelling.  They  were  whispering  to  each 
other ;  and  I  crept  nearer  and  nearer  till  I  could 
hear  all  they  said. 

"  '  When  shall  we  come  ? '  said  one. 

" '  To-night,'  said  the  other,  who  had  red  hair 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       143 

and  a  freckled  face,  '  when  the  moon  is  up,  and 
the  little  beggars  are  all  asleep.  Then  we  can 
easily  knock  them  on  the  head,  and  get  the  nuts 
without  being  bitten.  They  bite  like  wild-cats 
when  they  are  roused,  these  little  fellows.' 

"  '  All  right ! '  said  the  other,  whose  face  I  could 
not  see.  '  I  '11  bring  a  bag  and  be  here  at  eight 
o'clock.' 

"  '  Will  you  ? '  thought  I,  and  I  crept  away  again, 
having  heard  all  I  wanted  to  know.  I  went  back 
to  the  others,  and  presently  a  snapping  and  crack- 
ling told  me  that  the  boys  were  gone.  Then  I 
went  to  Uncle  Mnnkle  and  told  him  what  I  had 
heard.  He  was  very  angry,  and  whisked  his  tail 
about  till  he  nearly  whisked  it  off.  '  Call  your 
large  friend,'  he  said,  '  and  we  will  hold  a  council.' 
So  I  waked  Coon  —  " 

"  Waked  Coon  ? "  exclaimed  the  woodchuck 
slyly.  "  What !  do  you  mean  to  say  he  was  not 
working  twice  as  hard  as  any  of  the  others  ?  " 

"  I  had  been,  my  good  fellow ! "  said  the  rac- 
coon loftily.  "  I  had  been  ;  and  exhausted  with 


144       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

mv   labors.    I    was   snatching   a   moment's   hard- 

•/ 

earned  repose.     Go  on,  Cracker." 

"Well,"  continued  the  squirrel,  "we  held  a 
council,  and  settled  everything  beautifully.  Uncle 
Munkle,  who  has  very  particularly  sharp  teeth, 
was  to  get  into  the  nut-closet  and  wait  there.  The 
rest  of  us  were  to  be  ready  together  on  the  near- 
est branch,  and  Coon  was  to  hide  himself  some- 
where close  by.  No  one  was  to  move  until  Uncle 
Munkle  gave  the  signal,  and  then  —  well,  you 
shall  hear  how  it  happened.  We  all  went  on  with 
our  work  until  sunset.  Then  we  had  supper,  and 
a  game  of  scamper,  and  then  we  began  to  prepare 
for  business.  We  sharpened  our  claws  on  the  bark 
of  the  trees  till  they  were  as  sharp  as  —  as  —  " 

"  Razors,"    suggested  Toto. 

"  Don't  know  what  that  means,"  said  the 
squirrel. 

"  As  sharp  as  Coon's  nose,  then ;  that  will  do." 

"  We  filled  our  cheek-pouches  with  three-cor- 
nered pebbles  and  nut-shells.  Then,  when  the 
moon  rose,  and  all  the  forest  was  quiet,  we 


THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF   TOTO.  145 

retired  to  our  posts.  We  had  waited  some  time, 
and  were  becoming  rather  impatient,  when  sud- 
denly a  distant  sound  was  heard ;  the  sound  of 
snapping  and  cracking  twigs.  It  grew  louder  and 
louder,  louder  and  louder ;  and  presently  we  saw  a 
freckled  face  looking  out  from  among  the  leaves. 

"  Cautiously  the  boy  advanced,  and  soon  another 
boy  appeared,  not  so  ill-looking  as  the  first.  He 
carried  a  bag  in  his  hand.  The  two  came  softly  to 
the  foot  of  our  tree,  and  looked  up.  The  leaves 
twinkled  in  the  moonlight ;  but  all  was  still,  not  a 
sound  to  be  heard.  The  two  whispered  together 
a  moment;  then  the  freckled  boy  began  slowly 
and  carefully  to  climb  the  tree.  We  saw  his  red 
head  coming  nearer  and  nearer,  nearer  and  nearer. 
We  knew  he  must  be  near  Uncle  Munkle's  hole. 
We  all  held  our  breath  and  listened  for  the  signal. 

"  Presently  the  boy  stopped  climbing,  and  we 
saw  him  stretch  out  his  hand.  Then  —  oh  !  such  a 
screech  !  You  never  heard  such  a  screech,  not 
even  from  a  wild-cat.  Another  yell,  and  another. 

That  was  the  signal.     Now  we  knew  what  Uncle 

10 


146  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

Munkle  meant  by  saying, 1 1  may  not  give  the  sig- 
nal myself,  but  you  will  hear  it  all  the  same.' 

"  Instantly  we  sprang  at  the  boy,  ten  strong, 
healthy  squirrels,  teeth  and  claws  and  all.  I 
don't  think  he  enjoyed  himself  very  much  for  the 
next  few  minutes.  He  yelled  all  the  time,  and 
at  last  he  lost  his  hold  on  the  tree,  and  fell  heavily 
to  the  ground.  Also,  Coon  had  been  biting  his 
legs  a  little.  But  when  he  fell,  Coon  started  after 
the  other  boy,  who  was  dancing  about  the  foot  of 
the  tree  in  a  frenzy  of  terror  and  amazement. 
When  he  saw  Coon  coming,  he  started  on  a  run ; 
but  Coon  jumped  on  his  back  and  got  him  by  the 
ear,  and  then  rode  him  round  and  round  the  for- 
est till  he  howled  as  loud  as  the  other  one  had." 

"  A  very  pleasant  ride  I  had,  too,"  said  the  rac- 
coon placidly.  "  My  young  friend  was  excitable, 
very  excitable,  but  that  only  made  it  the  more 
lively.  Yes.  I  don't  know  when  I  have  enjoyed 
anything  more." 

"  But  what  became  of  the  first  boy  after  he 
fell?"  asked  Toto  eagerly. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


147 


"  Well,  my  dear,  he  lay  still,"  said  the  squirrel. 
"  He  lay  still.  He  had  broken  his  leg,  so  it  was 
really  the  only  thing  for  him  to  do.  And  \vhen 
Coon  came  back  from  riding  the  other  boy  he 


"  His  father  took  him  away  in  a  wheelbarrow." 

jumped  backwards  and  forwards  over  him  till  his 
father  came  and  took  him  away  in  a  wheelbarrow. 
Every  time  Coon  jumped,  he  grinned  at  the  boy  ; 
and  every  time  he  grinned,  the  boy  screamed  ;  so 
one  inferred  that  he  did  not  like  it,  you  know. 


148       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  Altogether,"  said  the  little  squirrel,  in  conclu- 
sion, "  it  was  a  great  success ;  a  great  success  ; 
really,  worthy  of  our  end  of  the  wood.  And 
such  a  feast  as  Uncle  Munkle  gave  us  the  day 
after !  " 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       149 


CHAPTER   X. 

T  T  was  agreed  by  all  hands  at  the  next  meeting, 
that  Bruin  must  tell  the  story. 

"  You  have  not  told  a  story  for  a  long,  long 
time,  Bruin,"  said  Toto,  —  "not  since  we  began 
to  meet  here  ;  and  Granny  wants  to  hear  one  of 
your  stories  ;  don't  you,  Granny  ?  " 

"  Indeed,"  said  the  grandmother,  "  I  should 
like  very  much  to  hear  one  of  Mr.  Bruin's  stories. 
I  am  told  they  are  very  delightful." 

Mr.  Bruin  bowed  in  his  peculiar  fashion,  and 
murmured  something  which  sounded  like  "  How- 
wo  \v-mumberygrubble." 

The  old  lady  knew,  however,  that  it  was  meant 
for  "  Thank  you,  ma'am,"  and  took  the  will  for 
the  deed. 

Bruin  sucked  his  paw  thoughtfully  for  a  few 
minutes ;  then,  raising  his  head  with  an  air  of 


150  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

inspiration,  —  "  Pigeon  Pretty,"  he  asked,  "  what 
kind  of  a  bear  was  that  in  your  story  ?  " 

"  Really,  Bruin,  I  do  not  know, "  replied  the 
wood-pigeon.  "  It  said  l  a  bear,'  that  was  all." 

"You  see,"  continued  Bruin,  "there  are  so 
many  kinds  of  bears,  —  black,  brown,  cinnamon, 
grizzly,  polar,  —  really,  there  is  no  end  to  them. 
I  thought,  however,  that  this  might  possibly  have 
been  the  Lost  Prince  of  the  Poles." 

Here  Bruin  paused  a  moment  and  looked  about. 

"  The  Lost  Prince  of  the  Poles !  "  'exclaimed 
Toto.  "  What  a  fine  name  for  a  story  !  Tell  us 
now,  Bruin  ;  tell  us  all  about  him." 

"  Listen,  then,"  said  the  bear,  "  and  you  shall 
hear  about 

THE  LOST  PRINCE  OF  THE  POLES. 

THE  polar  bears,  as  3-011  probably  know,  are  a 
large  and  powerful  nation.  They  are  governed 
by  a  king,  who  is  called  the  Solar-Polarity  of  the 
Hypopeppercorns. 

"  On  !  "  cried  Toto.     "  What  does  that  mean  ?  " 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        151 

Nobody  knows  what  it  means.  That  is  the 
great  charm  of  the  title.  Gives  it  majesty,  you 
understand.  The  present  Solar-Polarity  is,  I  am 
told,  quite  worthy  of  his  title,  for  he  is  very 
majestic,  and  knows  absolutely  nothing.  He  sits 
on  the  top  of  the  North  Pole,  and  directs  the 
movements  of  the  icebergs. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  am  going  to  tell  you, 
which  was  so  long  ago  as  to  be  no  particular  time 
at  all,  the  Solar-Polarity  had  an  only  son,  —  a  most 
promising  young  bear,  —  the  heir  to  the  kingdom. 
He  was  brought  up  with  the  greatest  care  possible, 
and  when  he  had  arrived  at  a  suitable  age,  his 
father  begged  him  to  choose  a  mate  among  the 
youngest  and  fairest  of  the  she-bears,  or,  as  they 
are  more  elegantly  termed,  bearesses.  To  the 
amazement  of  the  Solar-Polarity,  the  Prince  flatly 
refused. 

"  I  will  not  marry  one  of  these  cold,  white 
creatures  !  "  he  said  ;  "I  am  tired  of  white.  I 
want  to  marry  one  of  those  things;"  and  he 
pointed  to  the  north,  where  the  Northern  Lights 


152        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

were  shooting  up  in  long  streamers  of  crimson 
and  green  and  purple. 

"  One  of  those  things  !  "  cried  his  father.  "  My 
dear  son,  are  you  mad  ?  Those  are  Rory-Bories  ; 
they  are  not  the  sort  of  thing  one  can  marry.  It 's 
—  it's  ridiculous  to  think  of  such  a  thing." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Prince,  "  then  I  will  marry 
the  creature  that  is  most  like  them.  .There  must 
be  some  creature  that  has  those  pretty  colors.  I 
will  go  and  ask  the  Principal  Whale." 

So  he  went  and  asked  the  Principal  Whale  if 
he  knew  any  creature  that  was  colored  like  the 
Rory-Bories. 

"  Frankly,"  said  the  whale,  "I  do  not.  Doubt- 
less there  are  such,  but  I  have  never  happened  to 
meet  any  of  them.  I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do, 
however,"  he  said,  seeing  the  Prince's  look  of  dis- 
appointment. "  I  am  just  starting  on  a  voyage  to 
the  Southern  seas ;  and  if  you  like  I  will  take  you 
with  me,  and  you  can  look  about  you  and  decide 
for  vourself." 

gf 

The  young  bear  was  delighted  with  this  prop- 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


153 


osition,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  assume  the  full- 
dress  costume  of  the  polar  bears,  which  consists  in 
tying  three  knots  in  the  tail. 

"A — excuse  me!"  interrupted  the  raccoon,  "I 
thought  no  bears  had  any  tails  to  speak  of;  "  and 


"He  sailed  away  for  the  Southern  seas." 

he  glanced  complacently  at  his  own  magnificent 
tail,  which  was  curled  round  his  feet. 

They  have  none  to  speak  of ;  \vhich  makes  it 
all  the  more  remarkable  for  them  to  be  able  to 


154       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

tie  three  knots  in  them.  As  soon  as  this  was 
accomplished,  the  Prince  declared  that  he  was 
ready  to  start. 

"  So  am  I,"  said  the  Principal  Whale.  And 
taking  the  Prince  of  the  Poles  on  his  back,  he 
sailed  away  for  the  Southern  seas. 

They  went  on  and  on  for  several  days  without 
any  adventures ;  till  one  day  the  young  bear 
saw  a  huge  jelly-fish  floating  towards  them. 
"  See  !  "  he  cried,  "  there  is  a  lovely  creature,  as 
bright  and  beautiful  as  the  Rory-Bories.  Surely 
this  is  the  creature  for  me  to  marry ! " 

"  I  don't  think  you  would  like  to  marry  that," 
said  the  whale.  "  That  is  a  jelly-fish.  But  we 
will^  go  and  speak  to  it,  and  you  can  judge  for 
yourself."  So  the  whale  swam  up  to  the  jelly- 
fish, who  looked  at  them,  but  said  nothing. 

"My  dear,"  said  the  Prince,  "you  are  very 
beautiful." 

"  Yah !  "  said  the  jelly-fish  (who  was  in  reality 
extremely  ignorant,  and  had  never  gone  to  danc- 
ing-school), "  that 's  more  than  I  can  say  for  you  !  " 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  155 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  you  say  that,"  said  the 
Prince,  mildly. 

"  Will  you  marry  me,  and  be  Princess  of  the 
Poles  ? " 

"  Marry  your  grandmother  !  "  replied  the  jelly- 
fish in  a  very  rude  manner ;  and  off  it  flounced 
under  the  water. 

The  young  bear  looked  sadly  after  it.  "  It  was 
very  pretty,"  he  said  ;  "  why  did  it  want  me  to 
marry  my  grandmother  ?  " 

"It  didn't,"  replied  the  whale.  "That  was 
only  its  way  of  speaking.  An  unmannerly  minx  ! 
Don't  think  any  more  about  it,"  and  they  con- 
tinued their  voyage. 

A  couple  of  days  after  this  they  met  the  sword- 
fish  and  his  daughter. 

"  These  are  some  friends  of  mine,"  said  the 
Principal  Whale.  "  We  will  see  if  they  can  aid 
us  in  our  search." 

The  swordfish  greeted  them  kindly,  and  invited 
them  to  come  down  and  make  him  a  visit. 

"  Thank   you,"    said   the  whale.      "  We    have 


156       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

not  time  to  stop  now.  We  are  in  search  of  a 
creature  as  bright  in  color  as  the  Rory-Bories. 
My  young  friend  here,  the  Prince  of  the  Poles,  is 
anxious  to  marry  such  a  creature,  if  he  can  only 
find  her." 

But  the  swordfish  shook  his  head,  and  said  he 
could  not  think  of  any  one  who  would  answer  the 
description. 

"/will  marry  you  if  you  wish,"  said  the  sword- 
fish's  daughter,  who  was  much  struck  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  young  bear.  "  I  am  considered 
very  agreeable,  and  I  think  I  could  make  you 
happy." 

"  But  you  are  not  bright,"  cried  the  poor 
Prince  in  distress.  "  You  are  even  black,  saving 
your  presence.  I  don't  wish  to  hurt  your  feelings, 
but  really  you  are  not  at  all  the  sort  of  creature 
I  was  looking  for ;  though  I  have  no  doubt,"  he 
added,  "  that  you  are  extremely  agreeable." 

"  You  might  play  I  was  a  Rory-Bory  behind  a 
cloud  on  a  dark  night,"  suggested  the  swordfish's 
daughter. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       157 

But  the  Prince  did  not  think  that  would  do, 
and  the  whale  agreed  with  him.  "  One  cannot 
play,"  he  said,  "when  one  is  married."  Accord- 
ingly they  bade  a  friendly  farewell  to  the  sword- 
fish  and  his  daughter,  and  continued  their  voyage. 

After  several  days  they  saw  in  the  distance 
the  coast  of  Africa.  As  they  approached  it,  the 
Prince  saw  something  bright  on  the  land,  near 
the  edge  of  the  water.  "  See  !  "  he  cried,  "  there 
is  something  very  bright  and  beautiful.  Let 
us  go  nearer,  and  see  what  it  is."  So  they 
went  nearer,  and  saw  a  long  line  of  scarlet  fla- 
mingoes, drawn  up  on  the  beach  like  a  company 
of  soldiers. 

"  Prince,"  said  the  Principal  Whale,  "  your  jour- 
ney has  not  been  in  vain.  I  really  think  these  are 
the  creatures  you  have  been  looking  for." 

As  he  spoke,  the  flamingoes,  who  had  caught 
sight  of  the  strange  creatures  approaching  the 
shore,  rose  into  the  air,  with  a  great  flapping  of 
wings,  and  flew  slowly  away. 

The  Prince  was  in  ecstasies.      "  Oh,  Whale  ! " 


158       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

he  cried,  "  these  are  Rory-Bories,  real  live  Rory- 
Bories !  See  how  they  shoot  up,  like  long  stream- 
ers !  See  how  they  glow  and  shine  !  One  still 
remains  on  the  shore,  the  loveliest  of  all.  She  is 
rny  bride !  She  is  the  Princess  of  the  Poles ! 
Swim  close  to  the  shore,  good  Whale  !  " 

The  whale  swam  up  to  the  shore,  the  water 
being  fortunately  deep  enough  to  allow  him  to  do 
so,  and  the  bear  addressed  the  solitary  flamingo, 
which  still  stood  upon  the  beach,  watching  them 
with  great  curiosity.  This  was,  in  fact,  the  Prin- 
cess of  the  Flamingoes ;  and  besides  being  rather 
curious  by  nature,  she  thought  it  would  be  be- 
neath her  dignity  to  fly  away  just  because  some 
strange  creatures  were  approaching.  So  she  stood 
still,  in  an  attitude  of  royal  ease. 

"  Lovely  creature  !  "  said  the  Prince,  "  tell  me, 
oh,  tell  me,  are  you  really  and  truly  a  Rory- 
Bory  ?  I  am  sure  you  must  be,  from  your  bril- 
liant and  exquisite  beauty." 

"  Not  quite,"  answered  the  flamingo.  "  Not 
quite  the  same  thing,  though  very  nearly.  I  am  a 


THE  JOYOUS  STOKY  OF  TOTO.       159 

flamingo,  and  the  Rory-Bory  is  a  flaming  go ; 
pronounced  differently,  you  perceive.  That  is 
the  principal  difference  between  the  two  families, 
though  there  are  some  other  minor  variations, 
which  may  be  caused  by  the  climate.  What  is 
your  pleasure  with  me,  and  what  might  you  hap- 
pen to  be  ? " 

"  My  pleasure  is  to  marry  you  !  "  exclaimed  the 
young  bear  rapturously.  "  I  am  a  white  bear, 
and  am  called  the  Prince  of  the  Poles.  After  my 
father's  death  I  shall  become  Solar-Polarity  of 
the  Hypopeppercorns.  Will  you  be  my  bride, 
and  reign  with  me  as  queen  ?  You  shall  sit  upon 
the  North  Pole,  and  direct  the  movements  of  the 
icebergs." 

The  flamingo  closed  one  eye,  and  drew  up  one 
leg  in  an  attitude  of  graceful  and  maidenly  coyness. 
"  Your  manners  and  bearing  interest  me  much," 
she  said  after  a  pause  ;  "  and  I  should  be  glad 
to  do  as  you  suggest,  but  I  fear  it  is  impossible. 
We  are  not  allowed  to  marry  any  one  with  more 
than  two  legs ;  and  you,  I  perceive,  have  four." 


160       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

The  poor  Prince  was  quite  staggered  by  this 
remark,  for  he  was  proud  of  his  legs,  which, 
though  short,  were  finely  formed.  He  was  silent 
in  dismay.  But  now  the  Principal  Whale  inter- 
posed. "  Would  it  not  be  possible  to  make  an 
exception  in  this  case  ?"  he  asked.  <•  My  young 
friend  has  come  a  very  long  way  in  search  of  you, 
and  has  quite  set  his  heart  on  this  marriage." 

"  Alas  !  "  said  the  flamingo,  "  I  fear  not.  It 
is  the  first  law  in  the  kingdom,  and  I  dare  not 
break  it." 

"  What  shall  I  do.  then  ?  "  cried  the  Prince  in 
despair.  "  If  I  cannot  have  you,  I  will  go  back 
and  marry  the  swordfish's  daughter,  and  you 
would  be  sorry  to  have  me  do  that  if  you  knew 
how  ugly  she  was." 

"In  difficult  cases,"  said  the  flamingo,  "  we 
always  consult  the  hippopotamouse.  I  should 
advise  you  to  do  the  same." 

"  The  hippopotamouse  ?  "  exclaimed  the  Prince. 
"  Where  is  he  to  be  found  ?  Tell  me,  that  I  may 
fly  to  him  at  once." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       161 

"  He  lives  in  the  middle  of  the  central  plain  of 
Pongolia,"  replied  the  flamingo. 

''  In  that  case,"  said  the  Principal  Whale, "  I  must 
leave  yon,  my  Prince,  as  travelling  on  land  is  one 
of  the  pleasures  I  must  deny  myself,  being  con- 
stitutionally unfitted  for  it." 

The  Prince  thanked  the  whale  warmly  for  his 
kindness,  and  after  taking  a  most  affecting  leave 
of  the  Flamingo  Princess,  he  set  off  for  the  central 
plain  of  Pongolia. 

He  travelled  night  and  day,  and  after  many 
days  he  arrived  at  the  very  middle  of  the  plain. 
There  he  found  the  hippopotamouse,  sitting  in  the 
middle  of  a  river,  nibbling  a  huge  cheese. 

This  singular  animal  combined  all  the  chief 
qualities  of  a  hippopotamus  and  a  mouse.  His  ap- 
pearance was  truly  astonishing,  and  filled  the  mind 
of  the  Prince  with  mingled  feelings.  He  stood  for 
some  time  gazing  at  him  in  silent  amazement. 

Presently  the  hippopotamouse  looked  up  sharp- 
ly. "Well,"  he  said,  "what  do  you  want?  Do 
you  think  I  am  pretty  ?  " 

ll 


162       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  N-no ! "  replied  the  young  bear.  "You  may  be 
good  ;  but  I  don't  think  you  are  pretty.  I  want," 
he  continued,  "  to  marry  the  Flamingo  Princess. 
I  am  the  Prince  of  the  Poles,  son  of  the  Solar- 
Polarity  of  the  Hypopeppercorns.  You  may  have 
heard  of  my  father." 

"  Oh  !  ah  !  yes  !  "  said  the  hippopotamouse. 
"I've  heard  of  him.  Well,  why  don't  you  marry 
her?" 

"  Because  I  have  four  legs."  answered  the  Prince 
sadly ;  "  and  it  is  against  the  law  for  a  flamingo  to 
marry  any  one  with  more  than  two." 

"  True.  I  had  forgotten  that,"  said  the  hippo- 
potamouse. 

"  Can  you  suggest  any  way  out  of  the  diffi- 
culty?" inquired  the  Prince. 

Without  making  any  reply,  the  hippopotamouse 
plunged  into  meditation  and  the  cheese  at  the 
same  moment,  and  nibbled  and  meditated  in 
silence  for  several  hours ;  while  the  unhappy 
Prince  stood  first  on  one  leg,  and  then  on  the 
other,  endeavoring  in  vain  to  conceal  his  impa- 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


163 


tience.  Finally,  when  he  was  quite  exhausted 
with  waiting,  the  hippopotamouse  took  his  head 
out  of  the  cheese. 

"  My  young  friend,"  he  said,  "  I  see  but  one 
way  out  of  the  difficulty,  and  that  is  for  you  to 


" My  young  friend,"  he  said,  "I  see  but  one  way." 

walk  about  on  two  of  your  legs  until  they  are 
worn  out.  Then,  you  perceive,  you  will  have, 
unless  my  calculations  have  misled  me,  exactly 
two  left, —  the  proper  number  to  enable  you 
legally  to  marry  the  Flamingo  Princess.  You 
may  find  this  fatiguing,"  he  continued,  seeing  the 
Prince's  look  of  dismay ;  "  but  really  I  can  see 


164       THE  JOYOUS  STOKY  OF  TOTO. 

nothing  else  for  you  to  do ;  and  when  you  reflect 
that  everything  is  more  or  less  fatiguing,  and  that 
I  have  worn  out  five  complete  sets  of  teeth  on  this 
very  cheese,  you  may  become  reconciled  to  your 
lot.  Good-by.  I  wish  you  well."  And  without 
more  ado,  he  plunged  into  the  cheese  once  more. 

The  unhappy  Prince  uttered  one  wild  howl, 
and  turning  away,  fled  into  the  savage  wilds  of 
the  Pongolian  forest. 

Here  Bruin  paused,  shook  his  head,  and  sighed 
deeply. 

"  Oh  !  go  on,  Bruin,"  cried  Toto  eagerly.  "  How 
can  you  stop  there  ?  Go  on  immediately,  and  tell 
us  the  rest !  " 

Alas !  there  is  little  more  to  tell ;  for  from  that 
moment  the  Prince  of  the  Poles  has  never  been 
seen  or  heard  of. 

The  Flamingo  Princess  waited  long  and  anx- 
iously for  his  return  ;  but  he  never  came.  I  be- 
lieve she  finally  married  an  ostrich,  who  led  her  a 
terrible  life. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       165 

The  Principal  Whale  called  at  the  coast  of 
Africa  on  his  way  back  from  the  Southern  seas, 
and  hearing  the  sad  intelligence  of  the  Prince's 
disappearance,  departed  in  great  sadness  for  his 
Northern  home,  to  break  the  news  to  the  Solar- 
Polarity  of  the  Hypopeppercorns.  When  that 
potentate  heard  of  the  disappearance  of  his  son, 
he  fell  off  the  North  Pole,  and  broke  his  neck ; 
and  the  whole  nation  assumed  the  mourning  cos- 
tume of  the  polar  bears,  which  consists  in  tying 
a  sailor's  knot  in  the  left  ear,  and  a  granny's  knot 
in  the  right. 

And  thus  ends,  in  sadness  and  despair,  the  story 
of  "  The  Lost  Prince  of  the  Poles." 


166       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

/~^\NE  afternoon  (it  was  not  a  "  story  "  afternoon, 
for  the  grandmother  was  very  busy,  dyeing 
some  of  her  homespun  yarn)  Toto  went  off  to  the 
forest  early,  intending  to  have  a  game  of  scamper 
with  Coon  and  Cracker.  As  he  sauntered  along 
with  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  he  met  the  wood- 
chuck.  Master  Chucky  looked  very  spruce  and 
neat,  and  was  trotting  along  with  an  air  of  great 
self-satisfaction. 

"  Hallo  !  you  Chucky,"  exclaimed  Toto,  "  where 
are  you  going  ?  " 

The  woodchuck  stopped,  and  glanced  around 
with  his  sharp  little  eyes.  "  Is  any  one  with  you, 
Toto  ?  "  he  asked,  —  "  Coon,  or  Cracker,  or  any  of 
those  fellows  ? " 

"  No,"  answered  Toto  in  some  surprise.  "  I  was 
just  going  to  find  them.  Do  you  want  them  ?  " 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        167 

"No,  indeed  !  "  exclaimed  the  woodchuck.  "You 
see,"  and  he  lowered  his  voice  confidentially,"! 
am  going  to  a  rinktum,  and  I  don't  want  those 
fellows  to  know  about  it." 

"What  is  a  rinktum?"  asked  Toto.  "And 
why  don't  you  want  them  to  know  about  it?" 

"  Why,  a  rinktum  is  a  rabbit's  ball,  of  course. 
What  else  should  it  be  ?  "  answered  Chucky.  "  The 
rabbits  have  invited  me ;  but  at  the  last  one  Coon 
ate  up  all  the  supper,  and  bit  the  rabbits  if  they 
tried  to  get  any ;  so  they  determined  not  to  in- 
vite him  again,  and  asked  me  not  to  say  anything 
about  it." 

"  Oh,  Chucky,"  exclaimed  Toto,  "  I  wish  you 
would  take  me  !  I  have  never  been  to  a  rabbit's 
ball,  and  I  should  like  to  go  so  much  !  and  I 
would  n't  eat  anything  at  all !  "  he  added,  seeing 
that  the  woodchuck  looked  doubtful. 

Chucky  brightened  up  at  the  last  remark,  and 
said.  "  Well,  after  all,  I  don't  see  why  I  should  n't 
take  you.  They  are  always  glad  to  see  people,  if 
they  will  only  behave  themselves.  So  come  along, 


168       THE  JOYOUS  STOKY  OF  TOTO. 

Toto  ; "  and  the  fat  little  creature  hurried  along, 
with  Toto  following-  him. 

"  You  may  have  some  difficulty,"  he  said  as  they 
went  aldhg,  "  in  getting  into  the  ball-room,  but  I 
think  you  will  be  able  to  squeeze  through.  It  is 
in  the  Big  Burrow,  which  is  certainly  large  enough 
for  any  reasonable  creature.  Here  we  are  now  at 
the  mouth  of  the  burrow." 

They  were  crossing  a  rough,  uneven  meadow, 
with  trees  and  shrubs  thickly  scattered  over  it ; 
and  the  woodchuck  stopped  at  a  large  juniper- 
bush,  in  front  of  which  sat  a  black  rabbit. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Woodchuck  ?  "  inquired  the 
rabbit.  "  And  who  is  this  with  you  ?  " 

"  This  is  a —  a  —  a  boy,  in  fact,"  said  the  wood- 
chuck  in  some  embarrassment.  "  He  is  a  great 
friend  of  mine,  and  has  never  seen  a  rinktum  in  his 
life,  so  I  ventured  to  bring  him.  He  —  he  won't 
eat  anything !  "  he  added  in  a  whisper. 

The  rabbit  bowed  to  Toto  by  way  of  reply,  and 
pulling  aside  the  branches  of  the  juniper-bush, 
disclosed  a  large  hole  in  the  ground. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       169 

"  Follow  me,"  said  the  woodchuck  ;  "  I  will  lead 
the  way."  And  he  disappeared  through  the  mouth 
of  the  hole. 

Toto  dropped  on  his  hands  and  knees',  and  fol- 
lowed as  best  he  could.  The  path  was  very  narrow, 
and  wound  about  and  about  in  a  very  inconvenient 
manner.  Several  times  the  boy  was  stuck  so  fast 
that  it  seemed  as  if  he  could  not  get  any  farther  ; 
but  he  always  managed,  by  much  wriggling,  to 
squeeze  through  the  tight  places.  It  was  perfectly 
dark,  but  there  was  no  possibility  of  his  losing  his 
way,  for  obvious  reasons.  At  last  he  saw  a  glim- 
mer of  light  ahead.  It  grew  brighter  and  brighter ; 
and  at  last  Toto  emerged  from  the  passage,  and 
found  himself  in  a  large  cave,  which  in  one  part 
was  high  enough  to  allow  him  to  stand  upright. 
He  immediately  crawled  over  to  this  part,  and 
getting  on  his  feet,  looked  about  at  the  strange 
scene  before  him. 

The  Big  Burrow  was  lighted  by  the  United 
Company  of  Glow-worms.  These  little  creatures 
had  arranged  themselves  in  patterns  all  over  the 


]70  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

walls  and  roof  of  the  cave,  and  were  shining 
with  all  their  might.  The  effect  was  truly  love- 
ly, and  Toto  could  not  help  wishing  that  his 
grandmother's  cottage  were  lighted  in  the  same 
way.  The  floor  was  crowded  with  rabbits  of 
every  size  and  color,  and  they  were  all  dancing. 
Black  rabbits,  brown  rabbits,  white  rabbits,  big 
and  little  rabbits,  racing  round  and  round,  jump- 
ing up  and  down,  shaking  their  ears,  and  wiggling 
their  noses.  Oh,  what  a  good  time  they  were 
having  ! 

"  Would  you  like  to  dance  ?  "  asked  a  very  large 
white  rabbit,  who  seemed  to  be  the  master  of 
ceremonies,  looking  up  at  Toto. 

"  Thank  vou,"  said  Toto.     "  I  do  not  know  the 

*/  7 

step,  and  I  should  only  make  confusion  among 
the  dancers,  I  fear." 

"  Oh,  you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  learning 
the  step,"  said  the  white  rabbit.  "  Nothing  could 
be  easier:  first  you  jump  up,  then  wriggle  your 
hind-legs  in  the  air,  then  turn  round  three  times, 
rub  your  nose  with  your  right  fore-paw,  jump 


THE    JOYOUS    STOKY    OF    TOTO. 


171 


again,  rub   your   nose  with   your   left   hind-paw, 
turn  round  —  " 

"  But  I  have    only    two    legs,"    objected    Toto 
meekly. 


"  Would  you  like  to  dance  ? " 

"Dear,  dear!"  said  the  master  of  ceremonies. 
"  That  does  seein  to  be  a  difficulty,  does  n't  it  ? 
What  a  pity !  Have  n't  you  ever  had  any 
more  ? " 

"  No,"  said  Toto.  "  We  are  not  made  that  way, 
you  see.  But  don't  mind  me,"  he  added,  seeing 
that  the  hospitable  rabbit  seemed  really  distressed. 


172       THE  JOYOUS  STOEY  OF  TOTO. 

"  I  only  came  to  look  on,  and  I  am  enjoying  my- 
self very  much  indeed,  I  assure  you." 

"  Pretty  sight,  is  n't  it,  Toto  ?  "  said  the  wood- 
chuck,  bustling  up,  while  the  master  of  ceremo- 
nies went  off  to  attend  to  his  duties.  "  See  that 
young  white  rabbit  with  the  black  nose  and  tail  ? 
She  is  the  belle  of  the  evening,  I  should  say. 
Lovely  creature !  I  have  just  danced  twice  with 
her." 

"  What  is  that  brown  rabbit  doing  ?  "  exclaimed 
Toto.  "  He  has  been  standing  on  his  head  before 
her,  and  now  he  is  lying  on  his  back  and  kicking 
his  feet  in  the  air.  I  think  he  is  in  a  fit." 

"No,  no,"  said  the  woodchuck.  "  Oh,  no.  He  is 
merely  expressing  his  devotion  to  her,  that  is  all. 
He  has  been  in  love  with  her  for  a  long  time," 
he  added,  "  but  I  don't  think  it  will  ever  come  to 
anything.  He  has  no  whiskers  to  speak  of,  and 
he  comes  from  a  very  inferior  sort  of  burrow. 
She  ought  not  to  dance  with  him  at  all,  in  point 
of  fact,  but  she  is  so  amiable !  " 

"  It  is  a  pity  they  have  no  music,"  said  Toto. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       173 

"  I  don't  see  how  they  manage  to  dance.  Would 
they  like  me  to  whistle  for  them,  do  you  think, 
Chucky?" 

"Oh,  tvouldrft  they!"  cried  the  woodchuck  in 
delight.  "  What  a  nice  boy  you  are,  Toto  !  I  am 
so  glad  I  brought  you ! " 

So  Toto  whistled  a  merry  tune,  and  the  rabbits 
nearly  went  mad  with  delight.  They  capered, 
and  jumped,  and  wriggled  their  hind-legs,  and 
rubbed  their  noses,  till  Toto  really  thought  they 
would  dance  themselves  into  small  pieces  :  and 
when  he  stopped,  they  all  tumbled  down  on  the 
ground  in  little  black  and  white  and  brown  heaps, 
and  lay  panting  and  exhausted. 

The  master  of  ceremonies  came  UD   to  Toto, 

j. 

and  after  making  him  nine  very  polite  bows, 
thanked  him  warmly  for  the  pleasure  he  had 
given  them.  "  This  is  certainly  the  rinktum  of 
the  season,"  he  said,  "  and  much  of  its  success  is 
owing  to  your  kindness."  He  then  begged  Toto 
to  come  into  the  supper-room,  and  led  the  way 
to  an  adjoining  cave. 


174       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

Toto  followed,  with  a  comical  glance  at  the 
woodchuck,  to  remind  him  that  he  had  not  for- 
gotten his  promise. 

The  supper  was  served  in  superb  style,  worthy 
of  "the  rinktum  of  the  season."  There  was  cab- 
bage-soup and  broccoli  broth.  There  were  tur- 
nips and  carrots,  celery  and  beets  and  onions,  in 
profusion ;  and  in  the  centre  of  the  room  rose  a 
lofty  mountain  of  crisp  green  lettuce.  Ah!  that 
was  a  supper  to  do  a  rabbit's  heart  good  ! 

Toto,  mindful  of  his  promise,  showed  great 
self-denial  with  regard  to  the  raw  vegetables,  and 
even  remained  firm  against  the  attractions  of  the 
cabbage-soup. 

The  wrhite  rabbit  was  quite  melancholy  over  his 
guest's  persistent  refusal  to  eat  of  his  good  cheer. 
"  But  perhaps,"  he  said,  "  creatures  of  your  race 
never  eat.  I  see  that  your  nose  does  not  wig- 
gle when  you  speak,  so  perhaps  you  cannot 
eat,  eh?" 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Toto  in  an  off-hand  way.  "Yes, 
we  can  :  and  sometimes  we  do.  I  have  eaten  in 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        175 

the  course  of  my  life,  and  I  may  do  it  again,  but 
not  to-night." 

At  this  moment  the  guests  all  came  pouring 
into  the  supper-room ;  and  Toto  began  to  think 
that  it  would  be  wise  for  him  to  slip  away  quietly, 
as  it  must  be  near  his  own  supper-time,  and  his 
grandmother  would  be  wondering  where  he  was. 
So  he  took  a  friendly  leave  of  the  master  of  cere- 
monies, and  nodding  to  the  woodchuck,  he  left 
the  supper-room,  made  his  way  through  the  ball- 
room, and  dropping  once  more  on  his  hands  and 
knees,  proceeded  to  wriggle  his  way  as  best  he 
might  through  the  underground  passage. 

A  very  grimy  and  dusty  boy  he  was  when  he 
came  out  again  from  behind  the  juniper-bush. 
He  shook  himself  as  well  as  he  could,  laughed  a 
little  over  the  recollection  of  the  unsuccessful  rab- 
bit suitor  kicking  his  heels  in  the  air  to  express 
his  devotion,  and  started  on  his  way  home. 

He  had  spent  a  much  longer  time  than  he  had 
meant  to  at  the  rinktum,  and  it  was  growing  quite 
dark.  He  hurried  along,  for  his  way  lay  through 


176  THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

a  part  of  the  wood  where  he  did  not  like  to  go 
after  dark.  The  owls  lived  there,  and  Toto  did 
not  like  the  owls,  because  none  of  his  friends 
liked  them.  They  were  surly,  growly,  ill-tempered 
birds,  and  were  apt  to  make  themselves  very 
disagreeable  if  one  met  them  after  dark.  Indeed, 
it  was  said  that  Mrs.  Growler,  the  old  grand- 
mother owl  of  the  family,  had  once  eaten  several 
of  Cracker's  brothers  and  sisters.  The  squirrel 
did  not  like  to  talk  about  it,  but  Toto  knew  that 
he  hated  the  owls  bitterly. 

"  I  hope  I  shall  not  meet  any  of  them,"  said  the 
boy  to  himself  as  he  entered  the  wood.  "  I  am 
not  afraid  of  them,  of  course,  —  it  would  be  absurd 
for  a  boy  to  be  afraid  of  an  owl,  —  but  I  don't  like 
them." 

The  thought  had  scarcely  crossed  his  mind, 
when  he  heard  a  sound  of  flapping  wings ;  and  a 
moment  after  a  huge  white  owl  flew  down  directly 
in  front  of  him,  and  spreading  its  broad  pinions, 
completely  barred  his  passage. 

"  Who  ?  "  said  the  owl. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY5  OF  TOTO.       177 


"  'Who  ? '  said  the  owl.     '  Toto,'  said  the  boy." 
12 


178       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  Toto,"  said  the  boy  shortly.  "Let  me  pass, 
please.  I  'm  in  a  hurry." 

"  You  're  late  !  "  said  the  owl  severely. 

"I  know  it,"  replied  Toto.  "That's  why  I 
asked  you  to  let  me  pass.  I  don't  want  to  talk  to 
you,  Mrs.  Growler,  and  I  don't  suppose  you  want 
to  talk  to  me." 

"Whit!"  cried  Mrs.  Growler  (for  it  was  no 
other  than  that  redoubtable  female).  "  Don't  give 
me  any  of  your  impudence,  sir !  What  do  you 
mean  by  coining  into  our  wood  after  dark,  and 
then  insulting  me  ?  Here,  Hoots  !  Flappy  !  Hor- 
ner !  Come  here,  all  of  you  !  Here  's  this  imp 
of  a  boy  who  's  always  making  mischief  here  with 
that  thieving  raccoon.  Let  us  give  him  a  lesson, 
and  teach  him  to  stay  where  he  belongs,  and  not 
come  spying  and  prying  into  our  wood ! " 

Immediately  a  rushing  sound  was  heard  from 
all  sides,  and  half-a-dozen  owls  came  hooting  and 
screaming  around  our  hero. 

Toto  held  his  ground  manfully,  though  he  saw 
that  the  odds  were  greatly  against  him.  One  owl 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       179 

was  all  very  well ;  but  seven  or  eight  owls,  all 
armed  with  powerful  beaks  and  claws,  and  all 
angry,  were  quite  another  matter,  especially  as 
the  darkness,  which  exactly  suited  them,  made  it 
difficult  for  him  to  tell  in  which  direction  he 
should  beat  his  retreat,  supposing  he  were  able 
to  beat  it  at  all. 

He  set  his  back  against  a  tree,  and  faced  the 
hooting,  flapping  crowd,  whose  great  round  eyes 
glared  fiercely  at  him. 

"  I  've  never  done  any  harm  to  any  of  you," 
he  said  boldly.  "  I  've  never  thrown  stones  at  you, 
and  I  've  never  taken  more  than  one  egg  at  a 
time  from  your  nests.  You  have  always  hated  me, 
Mother  Growler,  because  I  am  a  friend  of  Coon  ; 
and  you're  afraid  of  Coon,  you  know  you  are. 
Come,  let  me  go  home  quietly,  and  I  '11  promise 
not  to  come  into  your  part  of  the  wood  again. 

"  I  'm  sure,  there  's  no  inducement  for  coming," 
he  added  in  a  lower  tone.  "  It 's  the  scraggiest 
part  of  the  whole  forest,  —  only  fit  for  owls  to  live 
in!" 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  Hoo  !  hoo  !  "  cried  Mother  Growler  in  a  rage. 
"  I  'm  afraid  of  Coon,  am  I  ?  A  nasty,  thieving 
creature,  with  an  amount  of  tail  that  is  simply  dis- 
gusting !  And  our  wood  is  scraggy,  is  it  ?  Hoo  ! 
Give  it  to  him,  children  !  " 

"  Peck  him  ! "  cried  all  the  owls  in  chorus  ; 
"  scratch  him  !  tear  him  !  hustle  him !  "  and,  with 
wings  and  claws  spread,  they  came  flying  at  Toto. 

Toto  put  one  arm  before  his  face,  and  prepared 
to  defend  himself  as  well  as  he  could  with  the  other. 
His  blood  was  up,  and  he  had  no  thought  of 
trying  to  escape.  If  he  could  only  get  Mother 
Growler  by  the  head  now,  and  wring  her  neck  ! 

But  blows  were  falling  like  hail  on  his  own  head 
now,  —  sharp  blows  from  horny  beaks  and  crooked 
talons.  They  were  tearing  his  jacket  off.  He 
was  dazed,  almost  stunned,  by  the  beating  of  the 
huge  wings  in  his  face.  Decidedly,  our  Toto  is  in 
a  bad  way. 

Suddenly  a  loud  crackling  noise  was  heard 
among  the  bushes.  It  came  nearer  ;  it  grew  louder. 
Toto  listened,  with  his  heart  in  his  mouth.  Surely, 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       181 

but  one  animal  there  was  big  enough  to  make  a 
noise  like  that. 

"  Bruin  !  "  he  cried,  with  all  the  breath  he  could 
gather,  panting  and  struggling  as  he  was.  "  Bruin  ! 
help  !  help  !  " 

A  portentous  growl  answered  his  cry.  The 
boughs  crackled  and  burst  right  and  left,  and  the 
next  instant  the  bear  sprang  through  the  bushes. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  he  cried.  "  Toto,  that  was  your 
voice.  Where  are  you,  boy?  What  is  the 
matter?" 

"  Here  !  "  cried  Toto  faintly.  "  Here,  Bruin  ! 
The  owls  —  "  But  at  that  moment  the  little 
fellow's  voice  failed,  and  he  sank  bleeding  and 
exhausted  on  the  ground. 

"  Ho w-grrrrr-wow—  wurra  —  WURRA  -WURRA- 
WOW!!  !" 

In  two  minutes  more  there  were  no  owls  in  that 
part  of  the  wood.  Hoots,  Horner,  and  the  rest, 
when  they  saw  the  fiery  eyes  and  glittering  teeth 
of  the  bear,  and  heard  his  terrible  roar,  as  he 
rushed  upon  them,  loosed  their  hold  of  the 


182       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

boy,  and  flew  for  their  lives.  As  for  Mother 
Growler  — 

"  I  did  say,"  remarked  Bruin,  taking  some  feath- 
ers out  of  his  mouth,  "  that  I  never  would  eat 
another  owl  unless  it  was  plucked.  Feathers  are 
certainly  a  most  inferior  article  of  food ;  but  in  a 
case  of  this  kind  it  is  really  the  only  thing  to  do. 
As  Coon  says,  it  settles  the  matter,  and  there  is  no 
further  trouble  about  it.  And  now,"  continued 
the  good  bear,  "  how  is  my  dear  boy  ?  Why, 
Toto !  look  up,  boy.  They  are  all  gone,  and 
you  are  cock  of  the  whole  wood.  Come,  my 
Toto !  I  '11  eat  them  all,  if  they  have  hurt  the 
boy!"  he  added  in  an  undertone. 

But  Toto  made  no  reply.  He  had,  in  point  of 
fact,  fainted  from  exhaustion  and  excitement. 

Bruin  sniffed  at  him,  and  poked  him  from  head 
to  foot ;  then,  finding  that  no  bones  were  broken, 
he  lifted  the  boy  gently  by  the  waistband  of  his 
breeches,  and  shambled  off  in  the  direction  of  the 
cottage. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        183 


CHAPTER   XII. 

"  I  ^HE  grandmother  all  this  time  was  wondering 
very  much  where  her  Toto  was.  "  What 
can  have  become  of  the  boy  ? "  she  said  to  her- 
self for  the  twentieth  time.  "  He  is  always  punc- 
tual at  supper-time  ;  and  now  it  is  more  than  an 
hour  past.  It  must  be  quite  dark,  too,  in  the 
wood.  Where  can  he  be  ?  "  And  she  went  to  the 
door  and  listened,  as  she  had  been  listening  ever 
since  six  o'clock.  "  Toto  ! "  she  said  aloud.  "  To- 
to, do  you  hear  me?"  But  no  sound  came  in 
reply,  save  the  distant  hoot  of  an  owl :  and  reluc- 
tantly the  good  woman  closed  the  door  again,  and 
went  back  to  her  knitting.  She  felt  verv  anxious, 

tf 

very  much  troubled ;  but  what  could  she  do  ? 
Blind  and  alone,  she  was  quite  helpless.  Suppose 
the  boy  should  have  wandered  off  into  some  dis- 
tant part  of  the  forest,  and  lost  his  way  ?  Sup- 


184       THE  JOYOUS  STOKY  OF  TOTO. 

pose  he  should  have  encountered  some  fierce  wild 
beast,  unlike  the  friendly  creatures  with  whom  he 
played  every  day  ?  Suppose  —  But  here  the 
current  of  her  anxious  thoughts  was  interrupted 
by  a  sound  ;  a  curious  sound,  —  a  soft  ihud  against 
the  door,  followed  by  a  scratching  noise,  and  a 
sound  of  heavy  breathing. 

The  poor  grandmother  turned  cold  with  fear  ; 
she  did  not  dare  to  move  for  some  minutes ;  but 
the  thud  was  repeated  several  times,  as  if  some- 
body were  trying  to  knock.  She  tottered  towards 
the  door,  and  said  in  a  tremulous  voice,  "  Who  is 
there  ?  " 

"  Only  Bruin,  ma'am,"  was  the  reply,  in  a  meek 
growl. 

Oh,  how  relieved  the  grandmother  was  !  With 
hands  that  still  trembled  she  unfastened  the  door. 
"  Oh,  Mr.  Bruin  !  "  she  cried.  "  Dear  Mr.  Bruin, 
I  am  so  glad  you  have  come  !  Can  you  tell  me 
anything  about  Toto  ?  He  has  not  come  home, 
and  I  am  very  anxious  indeed.  I  fear  he  may 
have  met  some  wild  creature,  and  — " 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       185 

"  Well,  ma'am,"  said  the  bear  slowly,  "•  as  for 
being  wild  —  well,  yes  ;  perhaps  you  would  call  her 
wild.  And  I  don't  sav  she  was  amiable,  and  she 

%/ 

was  certainly  very  free  in  the  matter  of  claws ; 
very  free,  indeed,  she  was ! " 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Mr.  Bruin  ?  "  cried  the 
poor  old  lady.  "  Claws  ?  Oh  !  then  I  know  he  has 
been  attacked,  and  you  know  all  about  it,  and 
have  come  to  break  it  to  me.  My  boy  !  my  boy  ! 
Tell  me  quickly  where  he  is,  and  what  has  hap- 
pened to  him  !  " 

"  Don't  be  alarmed,  ma'am,"  said  Bruin.  "  Pray 
don't  be  alarmed !  there  are  no  bones  broken,  I 
assure  YOU  ;  and  as  for  her.  vou  need  have  no 

»/  /      */ 

further  anxiety.  I  —  I  saw  to  the  matter  myself, 
and  I  have  no  reason  to  think  —  no,  I  really  have 
110  reason  to  think  that  you  will  have  any  further 
trouble  with  her." 

"  Her  !  "  said  the  bewildered  old  grandmother. 
"I  don't  —  I  cant  understand  you,  Mr.  Bruin.  I 
want  to  know  what  has  become  of  To  to,  my 
boy." 


186       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  Certainly,  certainly,"  said  the  bear  hastily. 
"  Very  natural,  I  'm  sure  ;  don't  mention  it,  I  beg 
of  you.  As  for  a  little  blood,  you  know,"  he  added 
apologetically,  "  that  could  n't  be  helped,  you  see. 
I  did  n't  come  up  quite  soon  enough ;  but  we  know 
the  blood  is  there,  after  all ;  and  a  little  of  it  outside 
instead  of  inside,  —  why,  what  difference  does  it 
make  ?  He  has  plenty  left,  you  know." 

"  Bruin,  Bruin !  "  cried  a  faint  voice,  "  do  stop  ! 
You  will  frighten  her  to  death  with  your  ex- 
planations. Here  I  am,  Granny  dear,  safe  arid 
sound,  barring  a  few  scratches."  And  Toto,  who 
had  been  gradually  recovering  his  senses  during 
the  last  few  minutes,  raised  himself  from  the  door- 
step on  which  the  bear  had  laid  him,  and  flung  his 
arms  round  his  grandmother's  neck. 

The  poor  old  woman  gave  a  cry  of  joy,  and  then 
burst  into  tears,  being  quite  overcome  by  the  sud- 
den change  from  grief  and  anxiety  to  security  and 
delight. 

At  the  sight  of  her  tears,  the  worthy  Bruin 
uttered  a  remorseful  growl,  and  boxed  his  own 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       187 

ears  several  times  very  severely,  assuring  himself 
that  he  was  quite  the  most  stupid  beast  that 
ever  lived,  and  that  he  was  always  making  a 
mess  of  it.  "  I  did  n't  mean  to  frighten  you, 
ma'am,"  he  said,  "  1  didn't  indeed  ;  but  I  am  such 
a  stupid  !  And  now,"  he  added,  "  I  think  I  must 
be  going.  Good-night,  ma'am." 

"  What !  "  cried  Toto,  turning  from  his  grand- 
mother, and  throwing  his  arms  in  turn  round  the 
bear's  huge  shaggy  neck.  "  Going,  before  we 
have  thanked  you?  Going  oft0  without  a  word, 
after  saving  my  life?  Oh,  you  unnatural  old 
Bruin  !  you  shall  not  stir !  Do  you  know,  Granny, 
that  he  has  saved  my  life  from  the  owls,  and  that 
if  it  had  not  been  for  him  you  would  have  no  Toto 
at  all,  but  only  a  hundred  little  bits  of  him  ? "  And 
he  told  the  whole  story  in  glowing  words,  while 
Bruin  hung  his  head  and  shuffled  from  one  foot  to 
another,  much  abashed  at  hearing  his  own  praises. 

And  when  the  grandmother  had  heard  all  about 
it,  what  did  she  do  ?  Why,  she  too  put  her  arms 
round  the  huge  shaggy  neck ;  and  if  ever  a  bear 


188       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

came  near  being  hugged   to   death,   it  was   that 
bear. 

"  And  now,"  said  the  grandmother,  when  she 
had  recovered  her  composure,  and  had  thanked 
and  blessed  Bruin  till  he  did  not  know  whether  he 
had  one  head  or  seven,  "it  is  very  late,  and  I  am 
sure  you  must  be  tired.  Why  will  you  not  stay 
and  spend  the  night  with  us  ?  There  is  a  beauti- 
ful fire  in  the  kitchen,  and  a  nice  soft  rug  in  front 
of  it,  on  which  you  could  sleep  very  comfortably. 
Do  stay  !  " 

The  bear  rubbed  his  nose  and  looked  helplessly 
at  Toto.  "I  don't  think  —  "  he  began. 

"  Of  course  he  will  stay,"  said  Toto  decidedly. 
"There  isn't  any  'thinking'  about  it.  He  will 
stay.  Walk  in,  old  fellow,  and  sit  down  in  front 
of  the  fire,  and  Granny  will  give  us  both  some 
supper.  Oh  !  my  Granny  dear,  if  you  "kneiv  how 
hungry  I  am  !  " 

It  would  have  been  a  pleasant  sight,  had  there 
been  any  one  there  to  enjoy  it.  to  see  the  trio 
gathered  around  the  bright  wood-fire  an  hour 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       189 

later.  The  grandmother  sat  in  her  high-backed 
arm-chair,  in  snowy  cap  and  kerchief,  knitting  and 
smiling,  smiling  and  knitting,  as  happy  and  con- 
tented as  a  grandmother  could  possibly  be.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  hearth  sat  the  bear,  blinking 
comfortably  at  the  fire,  while  Toto  leaned  against 
his  shaggy  side,  and  chattered  like  a  magpie. 

"  How  jolly  this  is  !  "  he  said.  "  It  reminds  me 
of  Snow- White  and  Rose-Red,  when  the  bear  came 
and  slept  in  front  of  the  fire.  By  the  way,  Bruin, 
you  are  not  an  enchanted  prince,  are  you  ?  The 
bear  in  that  story  was  an  enchanted  prince. 
What  fun  if  you  should  be  ! " 

"  Not  to  my  knowledge,"  replied  the  bear, 
shaking  his  head.  "  Not  —  to  —  my  —  knowledge. 
Never  heard  of  such  a  thing  in  our  branch  of  the 
family.  I  had  a  cousin  once  who  travelled  with  a 
showman,  but  that  is  the  only  thing  of  the  kind 
that  I  know  of." 

"  Tell  us  about  your  cousin  !  "  said  Toto,  eager, 
as  usual,  for  a  story.  "  How  came  he  to  take  to 
the  show  business  ?  " 


190 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


"  It  took  him,"  said   Bruin.     "  He   was  taken 
when  he  was  a  little  fellow,  only  a  few  months 


"  The  man  taught  him  to  beat  the  drum." 

old.  The  man  who  caught  him  made  a  pet  of  him 
at  first ;  taught  him  to  dance,  and  shake  paws, 
and  beat  the  drum.  He  was  a  drummer  in  the 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.        191 

army,  —  the  man,  I  mean.  He  was  very  kind, 
and  my  cousin  grew  extremely  fond  of  him." 

"  What  was  your  cousin's  name  ?  "  asked  Toto. 

"They  called  him  (  Grimshaw  ; ' :'  said  Bruin. 
"  His  master's  name  was  Shaw,  and  he  was  grim, 
you  know,  when  he  didn't  like  people,  and  so 
they  called  him  ;  Grimshaw.'  He  mostly  didn't 
like  people,"  added  the  bear  reflectively.  "  He 
certainly  didn't  like  the  showman." 

"  Then  Shaw  was  not  the  showman  ?"  said  Toto. 

"  Oh,  dear,  no  !  "  said  Bruin.  "  A  war  broke 
out,  and  Shaw's  regiment  was  ordered  off,  and  he 
could  n't  take  Grimshaw  with  him.  He  was  very 
big  then,  and  the  other  soldiers  did  n't  like  him. 
He  had  a  way  of  going  into  the  different  tents 
and  taking  anything  he  happened  to  fancy  for 
supper ;  and  if  any  one  said  anything  to  him,  he 
boxed  that  one's  ears.  They  always  tumbled  down 
when  he  boxed  their  ears,  and  they  made  a  great 
fuss  about  it,  and  so  finally  his  master  was  obliged 
to  sell  him  to  the  showman.  His  name  was  Jinks. 

"  He  taught  my  cousin  several  new  tricks,  and 


192       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

took  him  all  over  the  country,  exhibiting  him  in 
the  different  towns  and  villages.  You  see."  said 
Bruin  apologetically,  "  he  —  I  mean  Grimshaw 
-  did  n't  know  any  better.  He  was  so  young 
when  he  was  taken  that  he  did  n't  remember 
much  about  his  family,  and  did  n't  know  what  an 
undignified  sort  of  thing  it  was  to  be  going  about 
in  that  way.  One  day,  however,  Jinks  undertook 
to  make  him  waltz  with  a  piece  of  meat  on  his 
nose,  without  attempting  to  eat  it.  Grimshaw 
would  not  do  that,  because  he  did  n't  think  it  was 
reasonable  ;  and  I  don't  think  it  was.  So  then 
Jinks  attempted  to  beat  him,  and  Grimshaw  boxed 
his  ears,  and  he  tumbled  down  and  did  n't  get  up 
again.  Grimshaw  waited  a  few  minutes,  and  find- 
ing that  he  did  not  seem  inclined  to  move,  he  ran 
away  and  took  to  the  woods." 

"  But  why  did  not  the  showman  get  up  ?  "  in- 
quired the  grandmother  innocently. 

"  I  think  it  highly  probable  that  he  was  dead, 
madam,"  replied  Bruin.  "  But  I  cannot  say  posi- 
tively, as  I  was  not  there. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       193 

"  After  this  Grimshaw  lived  alone  for  some  time, 
wandering  about  from  one  forest  to  another.  One 
day,  as  he  was  roaming  up  and  down,  he  came 
suddenly  upon  a  party  of  soldiers,  three  or  four 
in  number,  sitting  round  a  fire,  and  cooking  their 
dinner.  The  moment  they  saw  the  bear,  they 
dropped  everything,  and  ran  for  their  lives,  leav- 
ing the  good  chops  to  burn,  which  was  a  sin.  It 
was  a  good  thing  for  Grimshaw,  however,  as  he 
was  very  hungry  ;  so  he  sat  down  by  the  fire  and 
made  a  hearty  meal.  After  he  had  dined  comfor- 
tably, he  began  to  look  about  him,  and  spied  a 
big  drum,  which  the  soldiers  had  left  behind  in 
their  flight.  Seizing  the  drumsticks,  he  began  to 
beat  a  lively  tattoo.  In  a  few  moments  he  heard 
a  rustling  among  the  bushes,  and  saw  a  man's 
head  thrust  cautiously  out.  What  was  his  delight 
to  recognize  his  old  master,  Sergeant  Shaw  !  He 
threw  down  the  drumsticks  and  uttered  a  peculiar 
howl.  It  wras  answered  by  a  shrill  whistle,  and  in 
another  moment  Shaw  and  Grimshaw  were  in 
each  other's  arms.  When  the  other  soldiers  ven- 

13 


194 


THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF   TOTO. 


tured  to  return,  they  found  the  two  gravely  danc- 
ing a  hornpipe,  with  great  mutual  satisfaction." 

"  Oh !  how  delightful !  "  exclaimed  Toto.    "  And 
did  they  stay  together  after  that  ?  " 


"  They  found  the  two  dancing  a  hornpipe." 

"  No,  that  was  impossible,"  replied  the  bear. 
"  But  they  spent  a  couple  of  days  together,  and 
parted  with  the  utmost  good-will. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       195 

"  After  roaming  about  for  some  time  longer,  my 
cousin  met  some  other  bears,  who  invited  him  to 
join  them.  To  their  great  amazement,  one  of 
them  turned  out  to  be  Grimshaw's  elder  brother ; 
he  recognized  Grimshaw  by  one  of  his  ears,  out  of 
which  he  had  himself  bitten  a  piece  in  their  in- 
fancy. This  was  a  very  joyful  meeting,  and  led 
to  the  restoration  of  Grimshaw  to  his  parents,  who 
were  still  alive.  He  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life  in  peace  and  happiness ;  and  that  is  all  there  is 
to  tell  about  him. 

"  And  now,"  continued  Bruin,  "  you  ought  to 
have  been  asleep  long  ago,  Toto,  and  I  have  been 
keeping  you  awake  with  my  long  story.  Off  with 
you,  now !  And  good-night  to  you  too,  dear 
madam.  I  will  lie  here  in  front  of  the  fire ;  and 
if  any  creature,  human  or  otherwise,  comes  to 
disturb  the  house  during  the  night,  I  will  attend 
to  that  creature !  " 


196       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

r  I  ^HE  grandmother  thought,  the  next  morning, 
that  she  had  not  passed  such  a  pleasant 
evening,  or  such  a  comfortable  and  restful  night, 
for  a  long  time.  "  Dear  me  !  "  she  said,  after  Bruin 
had  departed,  with  many  thanks  and  at  least  ten 
profound  bows,  —  "  dear  me  !  what  a  difference  it 
makes,  having  a  bear  in  the  house !  one  feels  so 
secure  ;  and  one  does  not  think  of  waking  up  to 
listen,  every  time  a  branch  snaps  outside,  or  a 
door  creaks  in  the  house.  I  wonder — "  But  the 
grandmother  did  not  tell  Toto  what  she  wondered. 

The  next  fine  afternoon,  the  animals  all  came  to 
the  cottage  in  good  season,  for  they  were  to  have 
a  story  from  their  kind  hostess  herself  this  time, 
and  it  was  to  be  about  a  giant. 

"  And  if  you  will  believe  it,"  said  the  raccoon, 
"our  poor  Chucky  here  does  not — ha!  ha!  — 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       197 

actually  does  not  know  what  a  giant  is !  Will 
you  kindly  explain  to  him,  dear  madam  ?  " 

"  Ugh  !  "  grunted  the  wood  chuck.  "  1  don't  be- 
lieve you  know  yourself,  Coon,  for  all  your  airs ! 
You  said  this  morning  it  was  a  kind  of  vegetable, 
and  now  —  " 

"  Stop  quarrelling,  and  listen  to  the  story,  will 
you  ?  "  said  Bruin.  "  Wow  !  " 

When  the  bear  said  "  Wow  "  in  that  manner,  all 
the  others  knew  it  meant  business ;  and  as  he  lay 
down  at  the  grandmother's  feet,  they  all  drew 
nearer,  and  were  silent  in  expectation. 

"  A  giant,"  said  the  grandmother,  "  is  like  a 
man,  only  very  much  bigger;  very,  very  much 
bigger.  The  giant  about  whom  I  am  going  to 
tell  you  was  one  of  the  largest  of  his  kind,  being 
no  less  than  fourteen  miles  high." 

There  was  a  general  murmur  of  amazement. 

"  Fourteen  miles  high  !  "  the  old  lady  repeated. 
"  His  name  was  as  short  as  he  himself  was  long, 
for  it  was  neither  more  nor  less  than  Crump  ;  and 
he  fell  in  love  with  the  Lady  Moon.  He  fell  so 


198       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

deeply  in  love  with  her  that  it  was  quite  impos- 
sible for  him  to  get  out  again ;  so  he  informed  her 
of  the  fact,  and  begged  her  to  marry  him. 

'  Come  and  share  my  mammoth  lot, 
And  shine  in  my  gigantic  cot !  ' 

That  was  what  he  said,  or  words  to  that  effect. 

"  But  the  Lady  Moon  replied,  '  Dear  Crump,  I 
would  gladly  do  as  you  suggest,  but  the  thing  is 
not  possible.  I  have  no  body,  but  only  a  head  ; 
and  I  could  not  think  of  going  into  church  to 
be  married  without  any  body,  to  say  nothing  of 
legs  and  feet.' 

"  '  Is  that  your  only  objection  ? '  asked  Giant 
Crump. 

" '  The  only  one,  upon  my  lunar  honor ! '  replied 
the  Lady  Moon. 

" '  Then  I  think  I  can  manage  it,'  said  the  giant. 
Accordingly  he  went  and  gathered  together  all 
the  silver  there  wras  in  the  world  at  that  time,  and 
out  of  it  he  made  a  beautiful  silver  body,  with 
arms  and  legs  all  complete.  And  when  it  was 
finished  he  made  a  silver  dress,  and  silver  slippers, 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       199 

and  a  silver  moonshade,  and  dressed  the  body  up 
in  the  most  fashionable  and  delightful  manner. 
Then,  when  all  was  ready,  he  called  to  the  Lady 
Moon,  and  told  her  that  her  body  was  ready,  and 
that  she  had  only  to  come  down  and  put  it  on. 

" '  But  I  cannot  come  down,'  said  the  Lady 
Moon.  e Nothing  would  induce  me  to  come  down 
without  a  body.  You  must  bring  it  up  here.' 

"Now  that  was  not  an  easy  thing  to  do;  for 
though  Crump  was  very  big,  he  was  not  nearly 
big  enough.  What  are  fourteen  miles,  compared 
with  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  ?  However, 
he  was  a  very  persevering  giant,  and  had  no  idea 
of  giving  up ;  and  he  was  very  clever  too.  So  he 
sat  down  on  the  ground  and  reflected  for  the 
space  of  seven  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time 
a  thought  struck  him. 

"  He  rose  at  once,  and  went  to  work  and  made  a 
pair  of  stilts,  high  enough  to  reach  to  the  moon. 
That  was  quite  a  piece  of  work,  as  you  may 
imagine  ;  but  when  they  were  finished,  a  new 
difficulty  arose  :  how  was  he  to  get  up  on  them  ? 


200       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

This  required  more  reflection,  and  Crump  sat  and 
thought  about  it  for  six  weeks  more.  Then 
another  thought  struck  him,  which  was  really  an 
extremely  clever  one.  He  made  a  long  ladder, 
as  long  as  the  stilts.  He  set  this  up  against  one 
of  the  stilts,  and  climbed  up  and  put  one  foot  on 
it  j  and  then  he  set  the  ladder  against  the  other 
stilt,  and  climbed  up  and  put  the  other  foot  on 
that;  this  was  very  difficult,  but  it  was  also  very 
clever.  I  forgot  to  say  that  he  took  the  silver 
body  up  with  him.  Then  he  called  out  to  the 
Lady  Moon,  l  Here  I  am,  dear  Lady  Moon,  and 
here  is  your  silver  body.  Stop  now,  stop  your 
rolling,  and  let  me  fasten  it  on  for  you,  and  then 
come  down  and  be  my  beautiful  silver  bride.' 
And  he  held  up  the  silver  body,  which  shone  and 
sparkled  in  the  most  enchanting  manner. 

"  But  the  Lady  Moon  replied,  '  Stop  rolling, 
indeed  !  that  is  quite  out  of  the  question,  I  assure 
you.  I  have  never  done  such  a  thing,  and  I  am 
not  going  to  begin  at  my  time  of  life.  No,  no, 
Giant  Crump ;  if  you  want  me,  you  must  catch 


"  Here  I  am,  dear  Lady  Moon. 


202       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

me  ! '  and  she  went  rolling  on  in  the  most  heart- 
less and  unfeeling  way. 

"  There  was  nothing  for  the  poor  giant  to  do  but 
follow  ;  so,  tucking  the  silver  body  under  his  arm, 
he  set  off  on  his  tall  stilts,  and  walked  after  the 
Lady  Moon.  Round  and  round  the  world  went 
she,  and  round  and  round  went  the  giant  after 
her  ;  and  as  I  have  never  heard  of  his  catching 
up  with  her,  he  is  very  likely  walking  round  and 
round  still." 

"Is  that  all?"  inquired  the  insatiable  Toto. 
"  What  a  very  short  story,  Granny  !  " 

"  It  is  rather  short,"  said  the  grandmother ; 
"but  I  don't  see  how  it  could  be  made  any  longer. 
I  will,  however,  if  you  wish,  tell  you  another 
short  story,  and  that  will  be  equal  to  one  long 
one.  Listen,  therefore,  and  you  shall  hear  the 
story  of  Hokey  Pokey." 

So  they  listened,  and  heard  it. 

"  Hokey  Pokey  was  the  youngest  of  a  large 
family  of  children.  His  elder  brothers,  as  they 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       203 

grew  up,  all  became  either  butchers  or  bakers 
or  makers  of  candlesticks,  for  such  was  the  cus- 
tom of  the  family.  But  Hokey  Pokey  would  be 
none  of  these  things ;  so  when  he  was  grown  to 
be  a  tall  youth  he  went  to  his  father  and  said, 
'  Give  me  my  fortune.' 

"  '  Will  you  be  a  butcher  ? '  asked  his  father. 

"  '  No,'  said  Hokey  Pokey. 

"  '  Will  you  be  a  baker  ? ' 

" '  No,  again.' 

"  '  Will  you  make  candlesticks?' 

" '  Nor  that  either.' 

" '  Then,'  said  his  father,  '  this  is  the  only  for- 
tune I  can  give  you ; '  and  with  that  he  took  up 
his  cudgel  and  gave  the  youth  a  stout  beating. 
'  Now  you  cannot  complain  that  I  gave  you  noth- 
ing,' said  he. 

"  '  That  is  true,'  said  Hokey  Pokey.  '  But  give 
me  also  the  wooden  mallet  which  lies  on  the  shelf, 
and  I  will  make  my  way  through  the  world.' 

"  His  father  gave  him  the  mallet,  glad  to  be 
so  easily  rid  of  him,  and  Hokey  Pokey  went  out 


204       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

into  the  world  to  seek  his  fortune.  He  walked 
all  day,  and  at  nightfall  he  came  to  a  small  vil- 
lage. Feeling  hungry,  he  went  into  a  baker's 
shop,  intending  to  buy  a  loaf  of  bread  for  his 
supper.  There  was  a  great  noise  and  confusion 
in  the  back  part  of  the  shop ;  and  on  going  to 
see  what  was  the  matter,  he  found  the  baker  on 
his  knees  beside  a  large  box  or  chest,  which  he 
was  trying  with  might  and  main  to  keep  shut. 
But  there  was  something  inside  the  box  which 
was  trying  just  as  hard  to  get  out,  and  it  screamed 
and  kicked,  and  pushed  the  lid  up  as  often  as  the 
baker  shut  it  down. 

"  '  What  have  you  there  in  the  box  ? '  asked 
Hokey  Pokey. 

" ( I  have  my  wife,'  replied  the  baker.  l  She 
is  so  frightfully  ill-tempered  that  whenever  I  am 
going  to  bake  bread  I  am  obliged  to  shut  her  up 
in  this  box,  lest  she  push  me  into  the  oven  and 
bake  me  with  the  bread,  as  she  has  often  threat- 
ened to  do.  But  to-day  she  has  broken  the  lock  of 
the  box,  and  I  know  not  how  to  keep  her  down.' 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       205 

"  '  That  is  easily  managed/  said  Hokey  Pokey. 
'  Do  you  but  tell  her,  when  she  asks  who  I  am, 
that  I  am  a  giant  with  three  heads,  and  all  will 
be  well.'  So  saying,  he  took  his  wooden  mallet 
and  dealt  three  tremendous  blows  on  the  box, 
saying  in  a  loud  voice, — 

'  Hickory  Hox ! 
I  sit  by  the  box, 
Waiting  to  give  you  a  few  of  ray  knocks. 

" '  Husband,  husband  !  whom  have  you  there  ?  * 
cried  the  wife  in  terror. 

" '  Alas ! '  said  the  baker ;  '  it  is  a  frightful  giant 
with  three  heads.  He  is  sitting  by  the  box,  and 
if  you  open  it  so  much  as  the  width  of  your  little 
finger,  he  will  pull  you  out  and  beat  you  to 
powder.' 

"  When  the  wife  heard  that  she  crouched  down 
in  the  box,  and  said  never  a  word,  for  she  was 
afraid  of  her  life. 

"The  baker  then  took  Hokey  Pokey  into  the 
other  part  of  the  shop,  thanked  him  warmly,  and 
gave  him  a  good  supper  and  a  bed.  The  next 


206       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

morning  he  gave  him  for  a  present  the  finest  loaf 
of  bread  in  his  shop,  which  was  shaped  like  a  large 
round  ball;  and  Hokey  Pokey,  after  knocking 
once  more  on  the  lid  of  the  box,  continued  his 
travels. 

"  He  had  not  gone  far  before  he  came  to  another 
village,  and  wishing  to  inquire  his  way  he  entered 
the  first  shop  he  came  to,  which  proved  to  be  that 
of  a  confectioner.  The  shop  was  full  of  the  most 
beautiful  sweetmeats  imaginable,  and  everything 
was  bright  and  gay ;  but  the  confectioner  himself 
sat  upon  a  bench,  weeping  bitterly. 

"  '  What  ails  you,  friend  ? '  asked  Hokey-Pokey ; 
'  and  why  do  you  weep,  when  you  are  surrounded 
by  the  most  delightful  things  in  the  world  ? ' 

"  '  Alas ! '  replied  the  confectioner.  '  That  is  just 
the  cause  of  my  trouble.  The  sweetmeats  that  I 
make  are  so  good  that  their  fame  has  spread  far 
and  wide,  and  the  Rat  King,  hearing  of  them,  has 
taken  up  his  abode  in  my  cellar.  Every  night  he 
comes  up  and  eats  all  the  sweetmeats  I  have  made 
the  day  before.  There  is  no  comfort  in  my  life, 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       207 

and  I  am  thinking  of  becoming  a  rope-maker  and 
hanging  myself  with  the  first  rope  I  make.' 

"  '  Why  don't  you  set  a  trap  for  him  ? '  asked 
Hokey  Pokey. 

"'I  have  set  fifty-nine  traps,'  replied  the  con- 
fectioner, '  but  he  is  so  strong  that  he  breaks 
them  all.' 

"  '  Poison  him,'  suggested  Hokey  Pokey. 

" '  He  dislikes  poison,'  said  the  confectioner, 
'  and  will  not  take  it  in  any  form.' 

"  '  In  that  case,'  said  Hokey  Pokey,  '  leave  him 
to  me.  Go  away,  and  hide  yourself  for  a  few 
minutes,  and  all  will  be  well.' 

"  The  confectioner,  retired  behind  a  large  screen, 
having  first  showed  Hokey  Pokey  the  hole  of  the 
Rat  King,  which  was  certainly  a  very  large  one. 
Hokey  Pokey  sat  down  by  the  hole,  with  his  mal- 
let in  his  hand,  and  said  in  a  squeaking  voice,  — 

'Ratly  King!  Kingly  Rat! 
Here  your  mate  comes  pit-a-pat. 
Come  and  see ;  the  way  is  free ; 
Hear  my  signal  :  one !  two !  three ! ' 


208 


THE    JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 


And  he  scratched  three  times  on  the  floor.     Alnm- 
immediately  the  head  of  a  rat  popped  up  through 
the  hole.     He  was  a  huge  rat,  quite  as  large  as  a 
cat ;  but  his  size  was  no  help  to  him,  for  as  soon 


"The  confectioner  thanked  him  warmly." 

as  he  appeared,  Hokey  Pokey  dealt  him  such  a 
blow  with  his  mallet  that  he  fell  down  dead  with- 
out even  a  squeak.  Then  Hokey  Pokey  called 
the  confectioner,  who  came  out  from  behind  the 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       209 

^reen  and  thanked  him  warmly  ;  he  also  bade 
liiih  choose  anything  he  liked  in  the  shop,  in  pay- 
in6nt  for  his  services. 

"  '  Can  you  match  this  ?  '  asked  Hokey  Pokey, 
showing  his  round  ball  of  bread. 

"  '  That  can  I ! '  said  the  confectioner  ;  and  he 
brought  out  a  most  beautiful  ball,  twice  as  large 
as  the  loaf,  composed  of  the  finest  sweetmeats  in 
the  world,  red  and  yellow  and  white.  Hokey 
Pokey  took  it  with  many  thanks,  and  then  went 
on  his  way. 

"  The  next  day  he  came  to  a  third  village,  in 
the  streets  of  which  the  people  were  all  running 
to  and  fro  in  the  wildest  confusion. 

"  '  What  is  the  matter  ?  '  asked  Hokey  Pokey, 
as  one  man  ran  directly  into  his  arms. 

"  '  Alas  ! '  replied  the  man.  '  A  wild  bull  has 
got  into  the  principal  china-shop,  and  is  breaking 
all  the  beautiful  dishes.' 

"  '  Why  do  you  not  drive  him  out  ?  '  asked 
Hokey  Pokey. 

"  '  We  are  afraid  to  do  that,'  said  the  man ;  '  but 

14 


210       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

we  are  running  up  and  down  to  express  our  emo- 
tion and  sympathy,  and  that  is  something.' 

"  '  Show  me  the  china-shop,'  said  Hokey  Pokey. 

"  So  the  man  showed  him  the  china-shop ;  and 
there,  sure  enough,  was  a  furious  bull,  making 
most  terrible  havoc.  He  was  dancing  up  and 
down  on  a  Dresden  dinner  set,  and  butting  at  the 
Chinese  mandarins,  and  switching  down  finger- 
bowls  and  teapots  with  his  tail,  bellowing  mean- 
while in  the  most  outrageous  manner.  The  floor 
was  covered  with  broken  crockery,  and  the  whole 
scene  was  melancholy  to  behold. 

"  Now  when  Hokey  Pokey  saw  this,  he  said 
to  the  owner  of  the  china-shop,  who  was  tearing 
his  hair  in  a  frenzy  of  despair,  'Stop  tearing 
your  hair,  which  is  indeed  a  senseless  occupation, 
and  I  will  manage  this  matter  for  you.  Bring 
me  a  red  cotton  umbrella,  and  all  will  yet  be 
well.' 

"  So  the  china-shop  man  brought  him  a  red  cot- 
ton umbrella,  and  Hokey  Pokey  began  to  open 
and  shut  it  violently  in  front  of  the  door.  When 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       211 

the  bull  saw  that,  he  stopped  dancing  on  the  Dres- 
den dinner  set  and  came  charging  out  of  the  shop, 
straight  towards  the  red  umbrella.  When  he 
came  near  enough,  Hokey  Pokey  dropped  the 
umbrella,  and  raising  his  wooden  mallet  hit  the 
bull  such  a  blow  on  the  muzzle  that  he  fell  down 
dead,  and  never  bellowed  again. 

"  The  people  all  flung  up  their  hats,  and  cheered, 
and  ran  up  and  down  all  the  more,  to  express  their 
gratification.  As  for  the  china-shop  man,  he  threw 
his  arms  round  Hokey  Pokey's  neck,  called  him 
his  cherished  preserver,  and  bade  him  choose  any- 
thing that  was  left  in  his  shop  in  payment  for  his 
services. 

" '  Can  you  match  these  ?  '  asked  Hokey  Pokey, 
holding  up  the  loaf  of  bread  and  the  ball  of  sweet- 
meats. 

" '  That  can  I,'  said  the  shop-man ;  and  he 
brought  out  a  huge  ball  of  solid  ivory,  inlaid  with 
gold  and  silver,  and  truly  lovely  to  behold.  It 
was  very  heavy,  being  twice  as  large  as  the  ball 
of  sweetmeats  ;  but  Hokey  Pokey  took  it,  and, 


212       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

after  thanking  the  shop-man  and  receiving  his 
thanks  in  return,  he  proceeded  on  his  way. 

"  After  walking  for  several  days,  he  came  to  a 
fair,  large  castle,  in  front  of  which  sat  a  man  on 
horseback.  When  the  man  saw  Hokey  Pokey, 
he  called  out,  — 

" '  Who  are  you,  and  what  do  you  bring  to  the 
mighty  Dragon,  lord  of  this  castle  ? ' 

" '  Hokey  Pokey  is  my  name,'  replied  the  youth, 
6  and  strange  things  do  I  bring.  But  what  does 
the  mighty  Dragon  want,  for  example  ? ' 

" '  He  wants  something  new  to  eat,'  said  the 
man  on  horseback.  '  He  has  eaten  of  everything 
that  is  known  in  the  world,  and  pines  for  some- 
thing new.  He  who  brings  him  a  new  dish,  never 
before  tasted  by  him,  shall  have  a  thousand 
crowns  and  a  new  jacket ;  but  he  who  fails,  after 
three  trials,  shall  have  his  jacket  taken  away  from 
him,  and  his  head  cut  off  besides.' 

" '  I  bring  strange  food,'  said  Hokey  Pokey. 
'Let  me  pass  in,  that  I  may  serve  the  mighty 
Dragon.' 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       213 

"  Then  the  man  on  horseback  lowered  his  lance, 
and  let  him  pass  in,  and  in  short  space  he  came 
before  the  mighty  Dragon.  The  Dragon  sat  on 
a  silver  throne,  with  a  golden  knife  in  one  hand, 
and  a  golden  fork  in  the  other.  Around  him  were 
many  people,  who  offered  him  dishes  of  every  de- 
scription ;  but  he  would  none  of  them,  for  he  had 
tasted  them  all  before ;  and  he  howled  with  hun- 
ger on  his  silver  throne.  Then  came  forward 
Hokey  Pokey,  and  said  boldly,  — 

" ( Here  come  I,  Hokey  Pokey,  bringing  strange 
food  for  the  mighty  Dragon.' 

"  The  Dragon  howled  again,  and  waving  his 
knife  and  fork,  bade  Hokey  Pokey  give  the  food 
to  the  attendants,  that  they  might  serve  him. 

" '  Not  so,'  said  Hokey  Pokey.  '  I  must  serve 
you  myself,  most  mighty  Dragon,  else  you  shall 
not  taste  of  my  food.  Therefore  put  down  your 
knife  and  fork,  and  open  your  mouth,  and  you 
shall  see  what  you  shall  see.' 

"  So  the  Dragon,  after  summoning  the  man-with- 
the-thousand-crowns  and  the  man-with-the-new- 


214       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

jacket  to  one  side  of  his  throne,  and  the  man- 
to-take-away-the-old-jacket  and  the  executioner 
to  the  other,  laid  down  his  knife  and  fork  and 
opened  his  mouth.  Hokey  Pokey  stepped  lightly 
forward,  and  dropped  the  round  loaf  down  the 
great  red  throat.  The  Dragon  shut  his  jaws  to- 
gether with  a  snap,  and  swallowed  the  loaf  in  two 
gulps. 

" '  That  is  good,'  he  said  ;  (  but  it  is  not  new.  I 
have  eaten  much  bread,  though  never  before  in  a 
round  loaf.  Have  you  anything  more  ?  Or  shall 
the  man  take  away  your  jacket  ?  ' 

" '  I  have  this,  an  it  please  you,' said  Hokey 
Pokey ;  and  he  dropped  the  ball  of  sweetmeats 
into  the  Dragon's  mouth. 

"  When  the  Dragon  tasted  this,  he  rolled  his 
eyes  round  and  round,  and  was  speechless  with 
delight  for  some  time.  At  length  he  said, '  Worthy 
youth,  this  is  very  good  ;  it  is  extremely  good  ;  it 
is  better  than  anything  I  ever  tasted.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  not  new:  for  I  have  tasted  the  same 
<f 

kind   of   thing  before,  only  not  nearly  so  good. 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       215 

And  now,  unless  you  are  positively  sure  that  you 
have  something  new  for  your  third  trial,  you  really 
might  as  well  take  off  your  jacket ;  and  the  ex- 
ecutioner shall  take  off  your  head  at  the  same 


"People,"  he  said,  "I  am  Hokey  Pokey." 

time,  as  it  is  getting  rather  late.     Executioner,  do 
your  — ' 

"'  Craving  your  pardon,  most  mighty  Dragon,' 
said  Hokey  Pokey,  'I  will  first  make  my  third 
trial;'  and  with  that  he  dropped  the  ivory  ball 
into  the  Dragon's  mouth. 


216       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

"  <  Gng-wugg-gllll-grrr ! '  said  the  Dragon,  for 
the  ball  had  stuck  fast,  being  too  big  for  him  to 
swallow. 

"  Then  Hokey  Pokey  lifted  his  mallet  and  struck 
one  tremendous  blow  upon  the  ball,  driving  it 
far  down  the  throat  of  the  monster,  and  killing 
him  most  fatally  dead.  He  rolled  off  the  throne 
like  a  scaly  log,  and  his  crown  fell  off  and  rolled 
to  Hokey  Pokey's  feet.  The  youth  picked  it  up 
and  put  it  on  his  own  head,  and  then  called  the 
people  about  him  and  addressed  them. 

"  '  People,'  he  said,  4 1  am  Hokey  Pokey,  and 
I  have  come  from  a  far  land  to  rule  over  you. 
Your  Dragon  have  I  slain,  and  now  I  am  your 
king  ;  and  if  you  will  always  do  exactly  what  I 
tell  you  to  do,  you  will  have  no  further  trouble.! 

"  So  the  people  threw  up  their  caps  and  cried, 
1  Long  live  Hokey  Pokey !  '  and  they  always 
did  exactly  as  he  told  them,  and  had  no  further 
trouble. 

"  And  Hokey  Pokey  sent  for  his  three  brothers, 
and  made  them  Chief  Butcher,  Chief  Baker,  and 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       217 

Chief  Candlestick-maker  of  his  kingdom.  But  to 
his  father  he  sent  a  large  cudgel  made  of  pure 
gold,  with  these  words  engraved  on  it :  '  Now 
you  cannot  complain  that  I  have  given  you 
nothing  ! '  " 


218       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  X/A-HA !  "  said  the  raccoon,  yawning  and 
stretching  himself.  "  Ya-a-/wo  /  Hm-a- 
yeaow  !  oh,  dear  me  !  what  a  pity  !  " 

"  What,  for  instance,  is  the  matter  ?  "  demanded 
the  squirrel,  dropping  a  hickory-nut  down  on  the 
raccoon's  nose.  "  I  knew  a  raccoon  once  who 
yawned  till  his  head  broke  in  two,  and  the  top 
rolled  off." 

"  Hm  !  "  said  the  raccoon.  "  Not  much  loss  if 
it  was  like  some  people's  heads. 

"  I  was  sighing,"  he  continued,  "  you  very  stu- 
pid Cracker!  to  think  that  summer  is  gone,  and 
that  winter  will  be  here  before  we  can  say  '  Beech- 
nuts.' " 

"  Ah !  "  said  the  squirrel,  looking  grave.  "  That, 
indeed  !  To  be  sure  ;  yes." 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       219 

"  The  leaves  are  falling  fast,"  continued  the 
raccoon  meditatively ;  "  the  birds  are  all  gone, 
except  Pigeon  Pretty  and  Miss  Mary,  and  they  are 
going  in  a  day  or  two.  Very  soon,  my  Cracker, 
we  shall  have  to  roll  ourselves  up  and  go  to  sleep 
for  the  winter.  No  more  gingerbread  and  jam,  my 
boy.  No  more  pleasant  afternoons  at  the  cot- 
tage ;  no  more  stories.  Nothing  but  a  hollow  tree 
and  four  months'  sleep.  Ah,  dear  me !  "  and  Coon 
sighed  again,  and  shook  his  head  despondingly. 

"  By  the  way,"  said  Cracker,  "  To  to  tells  me 
that  he  and  his  people  don't  sleep  in  winter  any 
more  than  in  summer.  Queer,  isn't  it?  I  sup- 
pose it  has  something  to  do  with  their  having  only 
two  legs." 

"  Something  to  do  with  their  having  two  heads  ! " 
growled  the  raccoon.  "  They  don't  sleep  with 
their  legs,  do  they,  stupid  ? " 

"  They  certainly  don't  sleep  without  them ! " 
said  the  squirrel  rather  sharply. 

"  Look  here ! "  replied  the  raccoon,  rising  and 
shaking  himself,  "  should  you  like  me  to  bite 


220       THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 

about  two  inches  off  your  tail  ?  It  won't  take  me 
a  minute,  and  I  would  just  as  lief  do  it  as  not." 

Affairs  were  becoming  rather  serious,  when 
suddenly  the  wood-pigeon  appeared,  and  flut- 
tered down  with  a  gentle  "  Coo ! "  between  the 
two  friends,  who  certainly  seemed  anything  but 
friendly. 

"  What  are  you  two  quarrelling  about  ? "  she 
asked.  "  How  extremely  silly  you  both  are !  But 
now  make  friends,  and  put  on  your  very  best 
manners,  for  we  are  going  to  have  a  visitor  here 
in  a  few  minutes.  I  am  going  to  call  Chucky 
and  Miss  Mary,  and  do  you  make  everything 
tidy  about  the  pool  before  she  comes."  And  off 
flew  Pigeon  Pretty  in  a  great  hurry. 

"  She  ? "  said  Cracker  inquiringly,  looking  at 
Coon. 

"  She  said  '  she ' ! "  replied  Coon,  bestirring  him- 
self, and  picking  up  the  dead  branches  that  had 
fallen  on  the  smooth  green  moss-carpet. 

"  Perhaps  it  is  that  aunt  of  Chucky's  who  has 
been  making  him  a  visit,"  suggested  the  squirrel. 


THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO.  221 

"  Oh,  well ! "  said  the  raccoon,  stopping  short 
in  his  work.  "  If  Pigeon  Pretty  thinks  I  am 
going  to  put  this  place  in  order  for  a  wood- 
chuck's  aunt,  she  is  very  much  mistaken,  that's 
all.  I  never  heard  of  such  — "  But  here  he 
stopped,  for  a  loud  rustling  in  the  underbrush 
announced  that  the  visitor,  whoever  she  might 
be,  was  close  at  hand. 

The  bushes  separated,  and  to  the  utter  aston- 
ishment of  both  Coon  and  Cracker,  who  should 
appear  but  the  grandmother  herself,  escorted  by 
Toto  and  Bruin,  and  attended  also  by  the  wood- 
pigeon  and  the  parrot,  who  fluttered  about  her 
head  with  cries  of  pleasure. 

Toto  led  the  old  lady  to  the  mossy  bank  beside 
the  pool,  where  she  sat  down,  rather  out  of  breath, 
and  a  little  bewildered,  but  evidently  much  pleased 
at  having  accomplished  such  a  feat. 

The  raccoon  hastened  to  express  his  delight  in 
the  finest  possible  language,  while  the  little  squir- 
rel turned  a  dozen  somersaults  in  succession,  by 
way  of  showing  how  pleased  he  was.  As  for  the 


222  THE   JOYOUS    STORY    OF    TOTO. 

worthy  Bruin,  he  fairly  beamed  with  pleasure,  and 
even  went  so  far  as  to  execute  a  sort  of  saraband, 
which,  if  the  grandmother  could  have  seen  it, 
would  certainly  have  alarmed  her  a  good  deal. 

"  My  dear  friends,"  said  the  old  lady,  "  it  gives 
me  great  pleasure  to  be  here,  I  assure  you.  Toto 
has  for  some  time  had  his  heart  quite  set  on  my 
seeing  you  once  —  though,  alas  !  my  seeing  is  only 
hearing  —  in  your  own  pleasant  home,  before  you 
separate  for  the  winter.  So,  thanks  to  our  kind 
friend,  Mr.  Bruin,  I  am  actually  here.  How  warm 
and  soft  the  air  is ! "  she  continued.  "  What  a 
delightful  cushion  you  have  found  for  me !  and 
is  that  a  brook,  that  is  tinkling  so  pleasantly?" 

"  That  is  the  spring,  Granny ! "  said  Toto  ea- 
gerly. "  It  bubbles  up,  as  clear  as  crystal,  out  of 
a  hole  in  the  rock,  and  then  it  falls  over  into  the 
pool.  And  the  pool  is  round,  as  round  as  a  cup  ; 
and  there  are  ferns  and  purple  flags  growing  all 
around  it,  and  the  trees  are  all  reflected  in  it,  yon 
know;  and  there  are  turtles  in  it,  and  there  used 
to  be  a  muskrat,  only  Coon  ate  him,  and — and — 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       223 

oh  !  it 's  so  jolly  !  "  and  here  Toto  paused,  fairly 
out  of  breath. 

Indeed,  it  was  very  lovely  by  the  pool,  in  the 
soft  glow  of  the  Indian  summer  day.  The  spring 
murmured  and  tinkled  and  sang  to  them :  the 
trees  dropped  yellow  leaves  on  them,  like  fairy 
gold  ;  and  then  the  sun  laughed,  and  sent  down 
flights  of  his  golden  arrows,  to  show  them  what  a 
very  poor  thing  earthly  gold  was,  after  all.  So 
they  all  sat  and  talked  around  the  pool,  of  the 
summer  that  was  past  and  the  winter  that  was 
coming.  Then  the  grandmother  made  a  little 
speech  which  she  had  been  thinking  over  for  some 
time.  It  was  a  very  short  speech ;  but  it  was  very 
much  to  the  point. 

"  Dear  friends,"  she  said,  "  you  are  all  sad  at 
the  prospect  of  the  long  winter;  but  I  have  a 
plan  which  will  make  the  winter  a  joyous  season, 
instead  of  a  melancholy  one.  I  have  plenty  of 
room  in  my  cottage,  warmth,  and  food,  and  every- 
thing comfortable;  and  I  want  you  all  to  come 
and  spend  the  winter  with  Toto  and  me.  There 


224 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO. 


is  a  large  wood-pile  where  you  can  climb  or  sit 
when  you  are  tired  of  the  house.  You  shall  sleep 
when  you  please,  and  wake  when  you  please ; 
and  we  will  be  a  happy  and  united  family.  Come, 
my  friends,  what  do  you  say  ?  " 


A;3^o  v  ^  "^^jpf^g 
"  Then  the  grandmother  made  a  little  speech." 

What  did  they  say  ?  Indeed,  they  did  not 
know  what  to  say.  There  was  silence  around  the 
pool  for  a  few  minutes.  Then  the  bear  looked  at 
the  raccoon,  the  raccoon  looked  at  the  squirrel, 
and  the  squirrel  looked  at  the  wood-pigeon ;  and 


THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO.       225 

finally  the  gentle  bird  answered,  as  she  usually 
did,  for  all. 

"  Dear,  dear  madam,"  she  said,  "  we  can  imagine 
nothing  so  delightful  as  to  live  with  you  and  our 
dear  Toto.  We  all  accept  your  invitation  thank- 
fully and  joyfully ;  and  we  will  all  do  our  best  to 
be  a  help,  rather  than  a  burden,  to  you." 

All  the  animals  nodded  approval.  Then  Toto, 
who  had  been  waiting  breathless  for  the  answer, 
seized  the  bear  by  the  paws,  and  the  raccoon 
seized  the  squirrel,  and  they  all  danced  round  and 
round  till  there  was  no  breath  left  in  their  bodies ; 
and  the  woodchuck  —  who  had  been  asleep  behind 
a  tree,  and  had  waked  up  just  in  time  to  hear  the 
grandmother's  speech  —  danced  all  alone  on  his 
hind-legs,  to  the  admiration  of  all  beholders.  And 
then  Cracker  went  and  brought  some  nuts,  and 
Coon  brought  apples,  and  Bruin  brought  great 
shining  combs  of  honey,  and  they  sat  and  feasted 
around  the  pool,  and  were  right  merry. 

And  then  they  all  went  back  to  the  cottage,  — 
the  grandmother,  and  Toto,  and  Bruin,  and  Coon, 

15 


226        THE  JOYOUS  STORY  OF  TOTO» 

and  Cracker,  and  Chucky,  and  Pigeon  Pretty,  and 
Miss  Mary,  —  and  there  they  all  lived  and  were 
happy ;  and  if  you  ever  lead  half  such  a  merry 
life  as  they  did,  you  may  consider  yourself 
extremely  fortunate. 


THE    END. 


Messrs.  Roberts  Brothers'  Publications. 


MES.  DODGE'S  POPULAR  BOOK 


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